Taiwan shares end down with earlier gains eroded amid tariff concerns

Taipei, July 4 (CNA) Shares in Taiwan closed lower after giving up earlier gains Friday as uncertainties resulting from Trump administration policies continued to impact market sentiment, dealers said.

The Taiex, the weighted index on the Taiwan Stock Exchange (TWSE), ended down 165.47 points, or 0.73 percent, at 22,547.50 after moving between 22,500.97 and 22,842.75. Turnover totaled NT$321.88 billion (US$11.16 billion).

The market opened up 0.19 percent and rose to the day's high, rising about 130 points in the early morning session, following a rally on the U.S. markets overnight due to better than expected June job data, according to dealers.

However, profit taking on the main board soon took hold with tech stocks under heavy pressure, pushing the Taiex into negative territory by the end of the session, dealers said.

On Thursday, U.S. President Donald Trump told reporters that the White House will start sending letters to countries on Friday (U.S. time) specifying what "reciprocal" tariffs individual countries will face without an extension of a 90-day pause, which expires on July 9.

Without elaborating, Taiwan's government has repeatedly said its negotiations with the White House have proceeded smoothly and constructively.

"Amid continued caution, initial gains following the U.S. rally prompted investors to shift to the sell side and pocket their earlier gains before the real numbers come out," Mega International Investment Services analyst Alex Huang said.

"Today, artificial intelligence related stocks came under heavier profit taking pressure, preventing the Taiex from going higher and heading south instead," Huang said.

IPhone assembler Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., which also rolls out AI servers, lost 1.83 percent to close at NT$161.00. Meanwhile, shares in Quanta Computer Inc., another AI server supplier, fell 1.65 percent to end at NT$278.00 and rival Wistron Corp. dropped 1.65 percent to close at NT$119.00.

Contract chipmaker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC), the most heavily weighted stock on the local market, fell 0.46 percent to close at NT$1,085.00, after hitting a high of NT$1,100.00.

"Although TSMC stayed fundamentally healthy, it was not easy for the stock to jump over NT$1,100 mark due to the tariff issues," Huang said.

Global Unichip Corp., TSMC's application specific integrated circuit (ASIC) design subsidiary, lost 1.18 percent to close at NT$1,255.00. Smartphone IC designer MediaTek Inc. bucked the downturn, rising 1.57 percent to end at NT$2,190.00 on its relatively low valuation.

Old economy industries appeared mixed throughout the session, Huang said.

Asia Cement Corp. lost 1.71 percent to close at NT$43.05 and its counterpart TCC Group Holdings Co. fell 1.38 percent to end at NT$25.00.

In contrast, Eclat Textile Co. soared 8.88 percent to close at NT$466.00 on its high cash dividend payout, and buying also boosted rival Makalot Industrial Co. by 1.39 percent to end at NT$255.00.

In the financial sector, which lost 0.8 percent, Fubon Financial Holding Co. shed 2.41 percent to close at NT$81.00 and Cathay Financial Holding Co. ended down 1.91 percent at NT$61.50.

"Profit taking also reflected reduced hopes of a rate cut by the U.S. Federal Reserve later this month after stronger than expected June nonfarm payroll data," Huang said, adding "I think liquidity driven gains will moderate."

Foreign institutional investors bought a net NT$555 million worth of shares on the main board Friday, according to the Taiex.