Taiwan shares end down led by semiconductor stocks

Taipei, Oct. 22 (CNA) Shares in Taiwan moved lower Wednesday with selling focused on large cap semiconductor stocks after their U.S. counterparts incurred losses overnight, while old economy industries appeared resilient and lent some support to the broader market, dealers said.

The Taiex, the weighted index on the Taiwan Stock Exchange (TWSE), ended down 103.50 points, or 0.37 percent, at 27,648.91 after moving between 27,490.89 and 27,725.83. Turnover totaled NT$448.06 billion (US$14.57 billion).

The market opened down 0.50 percent as investors took their cue from a 0.66 percent decline on the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index Tuesday and tried to narrow losses during the session before contract chipmaker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) saw last ditch selling, maintaining the weakness until the end of the session, dealers said.

"Many investors turned cautious about a possible major pullback on the main board from a recent strong showing," Hua Nan Securities analyst Kevin Su said. "The downturn among U.S. tech stocks simply gave local investors an excuse to take profits with TSMC the major victim."

After a 1.07 percent fall on its American depositary receipts (ADRs) overnight, TSMC, the most heavily weighted stock on the local market, lost 1.35 percent to close at NT$1,460.00. TSMC's losses represented roughly a 160-point fall on the Taiex.

"While TSMC gave a strong forecast for 2025 sales growth, the positive leads have been priced in," Su said, referring to the chipmaker's upgraded sales growth from 30 percent to almost 35 percent in U.S. dollar terms.

Among other semiconductor stocks, shares in smartphone IC designer MediaTek Inc. dropped 0.75 percent to end at NT$1,330.00, and IC packaging and testing services provider ASE Technology Holding Co. shed 1.03 percent to end at NT$193.00. Bucking the downturn, memory chip supplier Nanya Technology Corp. gained 4.27 percent to end at NT$110.00 on rising product prices.

Although funds rotated out of the semiconductor industry, other hardware electronics stocks benefited, Su said.

iPhone assembler and AI server maker Hon Hai Precision Industry Co. rose 1.46 percent to close at NT$242.50, and Compal Electronics Inc., another AI server supplier, gained 4.81 percent to end at NT$35.95.

LITE-ON Technology Corp., which manufactures power management solutions for AI servers, also added 1.21 percent to close at NT$167.50, but AI server maker Quanta Computer Inc. fell 0.52 percent to end at NT$289.50.

"With the Taiwan dollar down against the greenback, old economy stocks attracted buying on hopes that they can take advantage of the currency's weakness to post more sales," Su said.

Auto parts makers were among the beneficiaries with Hota Industrial Manufacturing Co. up 1.15 percent to close at NT$61.40 and T.Y.C. Brother Industrial Co. up 4.19 percent to end at NT$47.20, he added.

In addition, Eclat Textile Co. added 1.98 percent to close at NT$438.50, and rival Far Eastern New Century Corp. gained 2.04 percent to end at NT$627.55.

In the financial sector, which added 0.36 percent, Fubon Financial Holding Co. rose 1.10 percent to close at NT$91.60 and Cathay Financial Holding Co. ended up 0.31 percent at NT$32.60.

"Today's caution also reflected uncertainties over U.S.-China trade talks," Su said. "Investors should keep alert over a planned summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping at APEC."

According to the TWSE, foreign institutional investors sold a net NT$22.41 billion worth of shares on the main board Wednesday.