Taiwan: Stocks up on bargain-hunting, Hon Hai falls on Sharp takeover delay

[TAIPEI] Taiwan stocks edged up on Friday as investors looked for bargains ahead of a long weekend, but shares in Hon Hai Precision fell after it put a takeover of Japan's Sharp Corp on hold.

Hon Hai was off 1.5 per cent by midday, a day after it put its takeover of the ailing Japanese electronics maker on hold, with sources saying previously undisclosed liabilities were responsible for the 11th hour delay.

Taiwan's financial markets will be shut Monday for a public holiday and resume trade on Tuesday.

As of 0425 GMT, the main TAIEX index was up 0.2 per cent at 8,382.26 points, after closing up 1 per cent in the previous session.

The electronics subindex sank 0.2 per cent, while the financials subindex gained 0.6 per cent.

The Taiwan dollar firmed T$0.25 to T$33.246 per U.S. dollar.

Among the most active stocks in Taiwan were YT CSI300BULL2X, down 0.2 per cent to T$9.51 per share; FB SSE180 L2XI, down 0.1 per cent to T$25.57 and INNOLUX, down 2.9 per cent to T$9.61.

REUTERS