Taipei, March 23 (CNA) Shares in Taiwan closed at their highest level in over seven years on Monday, boosted by small gains in blue chip electronics shares and high-priced stocks. The main weighted index of the Taiwan Stock Exchange closed up 8.4 points, or 0.08 percent, at 9,758.09, the highest level since Nov. 30, 2007, after fluctuating between a high of 9,775.63 and a low of 9,729.81. Turnover was NT$103.90 billion (US$3.31 billion). The electronics sub-index slightly outperformed the broader market, gaining 0.18 percent. Smartphone casing maker Catcher Technology (??) rose 6.48 percent to close at NT$345, and Hon Hai Precision Industry Co. (??), the world's largest contract electronics maker, added 0.54 percent to close at NT$93.50. MediaTek Inc. (???), one of Taiwan's leading integrated circuit designers, finished 0.57 percent higher at NT$438.5, and smartphone maker HTC Corp. (???) closed up 1.77 percent at NT$144. PC maker Acer Inc. (??) gained 2.13 percent to close at NT$21.60, and flat panel vendor Innolux Corp. (??) rose 2.22 percent to close at NT$16.10. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC,???), the world's largest contract chip maker and the driver of the stock market's gains last week, dropped 0.32 percent to close at NT$153.50. Looking ahead, Yuanta Securities (??????) fund manager Kuo Yi-hsin (???) advised investors to look at optical and cloud technology-related companies this year as more Chinese businesses and electricity suppliers build their own cloud services, increasing demand for data centers. (By Lo Hsiu-wen and Christie Chen)
