Home > Community > Financial Markets > Taiwan stocks flat as tech shares lose momentum

Taiwan stocks flat as tech shares lose momentum

Published: 15 Oct 2009 19:00:44 PST

* Banks up after positive earnings from Goldman Sachs, Citi

* LCDs down after LG Display forecast lower panel prices (Updates indexes, adds quotes and details)

TAIPEI, Oct 16 - Taiwan stocks were flat on Friday as investors sold technology shares including TSMC <2330.TW> that had helped drive the index to a 16-month high following Intel's <INTC.O> solid earnings, offsetting gains in banking shares.

About an hour into trade, the main TAIEX share index <.TWII> had fallen 1.25 points to 7,709.15. TSMC <TSM.N> was down 1.72 percent, with the seminconductor sub-index <.TSII> down 0.35 percent. The broader tech sector <.TELI> dropped 0.32 percent.

Cathay Financial <2882.TW>, along with other financial holding firms, rose nearly 1 percent after U.S. peers including Goldman Sachs <GS.N> and Citigroup <C.N> reported earnings that exceeded market forecasts. [.N]

"Profit-taking is on the mind of most investors as positive earnings from Intel are gradually priced in," said Andrew Deng, an assistant vice-president at Taiwan International Securities Corp.

LCD makers AU Optronics <2409.TW> and Chi Mei <3009.TW> fell 2.26 percent and 1.16 percent, respectively, after their larger Korean peer LG Display <034220.KS> said on Thursday that average LCD panel prices would decline, while shipments were expected to rise by less than 10 percent. [ID:nSEL002689]

Looking ahead, Deng said companies with larger land assets could extend their gains, inspired by the recent appreciation of the Taiwan dollar.

"The technology sector and the main index could have a technical correction as soon as next week," Deng said, who expected the main index to trade around its 20-day moving average at 7,500 points next week.

HOT STOCKS

-- Electronics parts giant Hon Hai <2317.TW> fell 0.76 percent after sources said Hon Hai Group would invest more than $1 billion to build a production facility in the southwestern Chinese city of Chengdu. [ID:nTP102315]

-- DRAM makers fell after Taiwan Innovation Memory Co requested less state capital. [ID:nTP89400]. Powerchip <5346.TWO>, Taiwan's top computer memory chip maker, fell 2.61 percent. Its smaller rivals, Nanya Tech <2408.TW> and ProMOS <5387.TWO>, fell 0.23 percent and 6.84 percent, respectively.

For a table of foreign trading in Taiwan stocks, double-cl ick on [ID:nTP170358]