Taiwan shares end down ahead of Fed's conclusion

Taipei, Sept. 17 (CNA) Shares in Taiwan closed lower Wednesday as investors locked in profits from the previous session amid caution ahead of the conclusion of the U.S. Federal Reserve's two-day policymaking meeting, dealers said.

The Fed meeting is scheduled to conclude early Thursday (Taipei time).

The Taiex, the weighted index on the Taiwan Stock Exchange (TWSE), ended down 191.39 points, or 0.75 percent, at 25,438.25 after moving between 25,422.96 and 25,632.07.

Turnover totaled NT$428.36 billion (US$14.24 billion), compared with NT$455.11 billion on Tuesday.

"It was no surprise that many investors at home and abroad turned cautious today before the Fed concludes the meeting," Concord Securities analyst Kerry Huang said, referring to a lackluster performance on U.S. markets overnight.

While the market has anticipated the Fed will begin a rate-cut cycle at this meeting, "investors just want to have clues about the American bank's hints on how many more cuts it will make for the rest of this year," Huang said. "The reduced turnover demonstrated such cautious sentiment."

The Fed is expected to release its dot plot, which indicates individual members' expectations for interest rates, after the meeting.

Huang said contract chipmaker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) led the downturn "as investors rushed to take profits after the stock closed at a new high yesterday."

TSMC, the most heavily weighted stock on the market, fell 1.17 percent to close at the day's low of NT$1,265.00, contributing about 120 points to the Taiex's fall and sending the electronics index down 0.92 percent.

TSMC's selling pressure spread to other semiconductor stocks, with smartphone IC designer MediaTek Inc. down 1.63 percent to end at the day's low of NT$1,510.00 and TSMC's IC design subsidiary Global Unichip Corp. down 1.90 percent to close at NT$2,190.00.

Bucking the downturn, memory chip supplier Nanya Technology Corp. ended up 5.92 percent at NT$73.30 on higher product prices.

Also in the tech sector, PC brand Asustek Computer Inc. lost 1.75 percent to close at NT$673.00, and rival Acer Inc. dropped 0.96 percent to end at NT$30.90.

In addition, iPhone assembler and AI server maker Hon Hai Precision Industry Co. shed 1.62 percent to close at NT$212.00, while Compal Electronics Inc., another AI server supplier, rose 2.16 percent to end at NT$30.75.

"While nontech industries largely moved in line with the broader market, investors still parked their money in select petrochemical and textile stocks as a safe haven," Huang said.

Among them, Nan Ya Plastics Corp. rose 2.59 percent to close at NT$37.70, and Formosa Chemicals & Fibre Corp. ended up 0.88 percent at NT$28.75.

Meanwhile, Eclat Textile Co. gained 5.71 percent to close at NT$444.00, and rival Makalot Industrial Co. added 2.61 percent to end at NT$294.50.

In the financial sector, which fell 0.60 percent, Fubon Financial Holding Co. dropped 0.11 percent to close at NT$88.70, and Cathay Financial Holding Co. lost 0.61 percent to end at NT$65.70.

"Even if the Fed cuts interest rates this time, the local central bank is expected not to follow suit in its quarterly meeting Thursday amid U.S. tariff uncertainties," Huang said.

According to the TWSE, foreign institutional investors sold a net NT$5.11 billion worth of shares on Wednesday.