TAIPEI (TVBS News) — Taiwan's stock market opened lower Wednesday (Dec. 18) at 23,014.43 points, dipping by 3.58 points, or 0.02%. Despite the dip, tourism stocks showed strong performance, driven by Shanghai's goodwill gesture to promote group travel to Taiwan.
Château Hotels & Resorts (夏都) surged to a limit-up price of NT$36.35, while Fleur de Chine International Hotels Corp. (雲品) increased by 5.09% to NT$64. The tourism sector saw a robust rise, with Lion Travel Service Co. (雄獅) climbing 4.08% to NT$127.5, Phoenix Tours International Inc. (鳳凰) up 3.4% to NT$69.9, and Regent Taipei (晶華) increasing by 2.32% to NT$198.5.
Airlines also benefited, with EVA Airways Corp. (長榮航) up 2.47% to NT$45.55, China Airlines Ltd. (華航) rising 2.29% to NT$26.8, and Tigerair Taiwan (台灣虎航) inching up 0.93% to NT$76.2.
In the electronics sector, stocks showed mixed results. UMC (聯電) rose 2.94% to NT$43.80, while MediaTek Inc. (聯發科) remained flat at NT$1,425. Hon Hai (鴻海) increased by NT$1 to NT$184, and Mitac (神達) fell 0.8% to NT$74.2.
