Taiwan's share prices closed higher Monday, with the weighted index, the market's key barometer, increasing 84.90 points, or 1.06 percent, to close at 8,057.49. The local bourse opened at 8,007.54 and traded between 8,079.62, and 8,007.54 during the session. A total of 5.3 billion shares changed hands on market turnover of NT$139.57 billion (US$4.32 billion). All of the eight major stock categories gained ground, with construction shares rising the most at 3 percent, banking and financial issues gaining 2.3 percent, cement shares increasing 1.4 percent and foodstuff issues advancing 1 percent. Plastics and chemicals gained 0.9 percent, electronics and machinery issues, as well as textile stocks, both increased 0.8 percent, and paper and pulp shares advanced 0.5 percent. Gainers outnumbered losers 1,843 to 988, with 256 stocks remaining unchanged. Foreign institutional investors were net buyers of NT$10.3 billion-worth of shares. 