Taiwan stocks end up 0.63 per cent

HTC shot up 5.6 per cent and Wintek Corp,which makes touch panels for mobile phones and other portable gadgets,jumped 2.6 per cent. They were the market8217;s two most actively traded stocks by turnover.

8220;Visibility for the PC sector is not very clear,so funds flowed to the mobile phone sector,which should be doing well in the third quarter,8221; said Alvin Teng,analyst at SinoPac Securities.

CLSA display analyst Tammy Lai recently upgraded Wintek from 8220;sell8221; to 8220;outperform8221;,saying that its profit outlook is better than expected and touch panel sales to Apple Inc will be one of the brightest spots.

8220;ECFA is another postive factor,8221; Teng said.

Taiwan8217;s economic growth in 2011 could exceed 6 per cent,beating forecasts,thanks to a landmark ECFA trade deal with China and improved global economic prospects,according to an official forecast.

The main TAIEX share index tracked Wall Street lower before buying kicked in by midday. It closed up 49.64 points at 7,941.22.

Last week US stocks had their worst week in six,slumping toward the close on Friday as economic data gave little reason to reverse a string of sell-offs.

8220;Some investors are switching focus to shipping or China-related plays,8221; said Tom Tang,a vice president at Masterlink Investment Advisory,citing expectations of long-term growth on the mainland.

Yang Ming Marine Transport Corp gained 2.5 per cent and China Airlines Ltd surged 7 per cent to its daily limit.

Asustek Computer Inc rose 1.5 per cent,reclaiming early losses. Asustek reported on Friday a quarterly profit that missed expectations and trimmed its 2010 shipment target.

Foreign investors were sellers in the past four trading sessions,offloading about T22 billion 690 million worth of shares,but have bought T8.5 billion of local shares so far this month.