Taiwan's share prices continued their winning streak Friday to close 0.49 percent higher, on hopes that the Cabinet's plan to allocate a special budget of NT$200 billion for disaster relief in the aftermath of Typhoon Morakot would give a boost to the country's economy. The weighted index, the market's key barometer, gained 34.55 points to close at 7,069.51. Although Morgan Stanley Capital International decreased its weight on the Taiex, the local bourse opened high at 7,091.82 in line with Wall Street's overnight gains and the rallies of regional stock markets. The Taiex later reached the day's high of 7,132.33 but subsequently retreated to the day's low of 7,062.49 due to the emergence of selling pressure. The local market has added 176 points in the week since southern Taiwan was hit by Typhoon Morakot, which triggered the most severe flooding in the country in 50 years. A total of 4.55 billion shares changed hands on market turnover of NT$124.04 billion (US$3.78 billion). Six of the eight major stock categories gained ground, with textile shares moving up the most at 3.2 percent. Cement stocks rose 1.8 percent, foodstuff issues and plastics and chemicals shares each advanced 1.7 percent, construction shares surged 1.6 percent, and machinery and electronics shares moved up 0.1 percent. Paper and pulp issues remained unchanged. Only one of the eight major stock categories, banking and financial shares, lost ground with a 0.4 percent drop. Gainers outnumbered losers 1,243 to 1,118, with 192 stocks remaining unchanged. Foreign institutional investors were net buyers of NT$5.03 billion worth of shares. One analyst said that although the index rebounded to above 7,000 and moved toward this year's high of 7,185, the market would advance further only if turnover rises above NT$160 billion. 