Taiwan shares end up on TSMC's gains

hares in Taiwan closed higher on a technical rebound Monday, largely because of gains enjoyed by contract chipmaker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC), dealers said.

The upturn was limited, however, by investor caution ahead of the release of more economic data in Washington later in the week, which could influence how the U.S. Federal Reserve will handle monetary policy in the future, dealers said.

The Taiex, the Taiwan Stock Exchange's benchmark weighted index, ended up 53.52 points, or 0.31 percent, at 17,572.66 after moving between 17,534.52 and 17,688.11. Turnover totaled NT$258.31 billion (US$8.34 billion).

The market opened up 15.18 points and rose to the day's high at around 9:30 a.m., led by the bellwether electronics sector after it slumped last week amid uncertainties over when the Fed will start to cut interest rates, dealers said.

With the Taiex breaching 17,610 points, the 20-day moving average, at one point, some investors moved to the sell side, trimming their holdings of tech stocks, but select stocks in the auto and tourism sectors remained resilient to the end of the session, dealers said. $Taiwan Semiconductor(TSM.US)$