Taiwan shares end down ahead of 28,000 points

Taipei, Oct. 28 (CNA) Shares in Taiwan closed lower Tuesday as downward pressure emerged with the benchmark index on the local main board breaching the 28,000-point mark briefly, while many investors awaited the upcoming meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping later this week, dealers said.

The Taiex, the weighted index on the Taiwan Stock Exchange (TWSE), ended down 44.52 points, or 0.16 percent, at 27,949.11 after moving between 27,885.62 and 28,087.93. Turnover totaled NT$533.03 billion (US$17.41 billion).

After the Taiex soared 1.68 percent on Monday, Mega International Investment Services analyst Alex Huang said that "the main board had priced in optimism toward the U.S.-China trade talks. Today, investors simply locked in their gains, awaiting the outcome of the Trump-Xi meeting," referring to the news that the American and Chinese negotiating teams have agreed to a framework of a trade deal on Sunday, paving the Trump-Xi meeting slated for Thursday.

"Despite profit-taking, the electronics sector appeared resilient on hopes that the U.S. Federal Reserve will cut interest rates again later this week due to the September cooler than expected inflation data," Huang said.

While contract chipmaker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC), the most heavily weighted stock in the local market, lost 0.47 percent to close at NT$1,075.00, iPhone assembler and AI server maker Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., second to TSMC in terms of market value, rose 1.42 percent to end at NT$250.00.

Smartphone IC designer MediaTek Inc. shed 1.50 percent to close at NT$1,315.00, but memory chip supplier Nanya Technology Corp. continued its recent strong showing, surging 8.33 percent to end at NT$130.00, and rival Winbond Electronics Inc. gained 6.09 percent to close at NT$54.00 on higher product prices.

In addition, with TSMC in consolidation, buying rotated to United Microelectronics Corp., a smaller contract chipmaker, which added 0.88 percent to end at NT$46.00.

"Nontech stocks continued to be left behind by investors, most of whom tended to chase AI-related stocks now," Huang said.

In the old economy sector, Formosa Plastics Corp. lost 0.75 percent to close at NT$39.70, and Nan Ya Plastics Corp. fell 1.86 percent to end at NT$42.20.

Also in the sector, Shihlin Paper Corp. shed 2.28 percent to close at NT$55.60, and rival YFY Inc. lost 1.15 percent to end at NT$25.90. In addition, Shihlin Electric & Engineering Corp. fell 1.13 percent to close at NT$175.50, while Teco Electric & Machinery Co. bucked the downturn, up 0.89 percent to end at NT$116.00 on its AI partnership with Hon Hai.

With the financial sector down 1.16 percent, Cathay Financial Holding Co. lost 1.37 percent to close at NT$64.80, and Fubon Financial Holding Co. ended down 1.30 percent at NT$90.90.

"Judging from today's movement, the Taiex has faced high technical barriers ahead of 28,000 points," Huang said. "The main board needs some time to digest pressure before closing above that level."

According to the TWSE, foreign institutional investors sold a net NT$27.11 billion worth of shares on the main board on Tuesday.