Taiwan shares end down ahead of 40,000 points

Taipei, April 28 (CNA) Shares in Taiwan fell Tuesday as selling set in just off the 40,000-point mark, which the Taiex breached for the first time on Monday, while caution also grew ahead of key U.S. tech earnings later this week, dealers said.

The Taiex, the Taiwan Stock Exchange's benchmark index, ended down 94.90 points, or 0.24 percent, at the day's low of 39,521.73, off a high of 40,101.23. Turnover totaled about NT$1.0 trillion (US$31.41 billion).

"The index breached 40,000 points today but failed, again, to sustain its earlier gains, indicating the resistance hurdles ahead of the level were high and more consolidation was needed," Hua Nan Securities analyst Kevin Su said.

"After an initial upturn today, investors rushed to pocket their gains, placing TSMC (Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co.) in focus," Su said. "But I have to say TSMC's losses were technical in nature and had nothing to do with its fundamentals during the current AI boom."

TSMC, which accounts for over 40 percent of total market value, fell 2.21 percent to close at NT$2,215.00 after hitting NT$2,280.00.

While TSMC's downturn contributed about 400 points to the market's losses, "rotational buying remained active with investors picking up other semiconductor stocks as well as electronics component suppliers to mitigate the impact from TSMC," Su said.

Smartphone IC designer MediaTek Inc. rose 7.39 percent to end at NT$2,615.00, and memory chip supplier Nanya Technology Corp. gained 4.86 percent to close at NT$2,615.00, while IC packaging and testing firm ASE Technology Holding Co. ended unchanged at NT$495.50.

Meanwhile, power management solution provider Delta Electronics Inc. rose 5.20 percent to close at NT$2,125.00, and Yageo Corp., the world's third largest multilayer ceramic capacitor maker, gained 7.05 percent to end at NT$326.50.

Su said funds also rotated to raw material suppliers to lend further support to the Taiex.

On rising crude oil prices, the petrochemical index rose 1.63 percent with Formosa Plastics Corp. up 1.59 percent to close at NT$51.10, and Nan Ya Plastics Corp. up 1.94 percent to end at NT$89.50.

Chung Hung Steel Corp. gained 5.31 percent to close at NT$17.85, and Chun Yuan Steel Industry Co. added 3.08 percent to end at NT$25.10.

Chung Haw Pulp Corp. added 1.51 percent to close at NT$13.45, and rival YFY Inc. ended up 0.21 percent at NT$24.05.

In the financial sector, which rose 0.60 percent, Fubon Financial Holding Co. rose 0.80 percent to close at NT$88.60, and Cathay Financial Holding Co. ended up 0.27 percent at NT$74.70.

"U.S. tech giants, including Microsoft, Amazon and Meta, will report their earnings this week, which could move the market," Su said. "In addition, a Federal Reserve two-day policymaking meeting will conclude on Thursday (Taipei time) and it is also worth watching."

According to the Taiwan Stock Exchange, foreign institutional investors sold a net NT$39.30 billion of shares on the main board Tuesday.