Taiwan: Stocks rise, trading cautious on China data, ahead of orders

[TAIPEI] Taiwan stocks rose slightly on Monday but trading remained cautious after China, the island's largest trading partner, posted its slowest quarterly growth since the financial crisis.

As of 0237 GMT, the main TAIEX index rose 0.2 per cent, to 8,618.24, after closing flat on Friday.

The electronics subindex was off 0.2 per cent, while the financials subindex gained 0.5 per cent.

China's economic growth eased to 6.9 per cent in the third quarter from a year earlier, beating expectations but still the slowest since the global financial crisis, putting pressure on policymakers to roll out more support measures as fears of a sharper slowdown spook investors.

Taiwan is due to release its own export order data for September on Tuesday, which is likely to show the sixth consecutive month of decline and the steepest drop in two-and-a-half years.

Taiwan's export orders are a leading indicator of demand for Asia's exports and for hi-tech gadgets, and typically lead actual exports by two to three months.

The Taiwan dollar firmed TW$0.146 to TW$32.359 per US dollar.

REUTERS