Taiwan shares end slightly higher on reduced turnover

Taipei, Aug. 17 (CNA) Shares in Taiwan closed slightly higher on reduced turnover Monday as investors appeared reluctant to chase prices amid fears of a major pullback, with some locking in earlier gains in large-cap tech stocks, dealers said.

The Taiex, the Taiwan Stock Exchange's benchmark index, ended up 46.26 points, or 0.10 percent, at 45,857.27, after moving between 45,765.07 and 46,189.30. Turnover totaled NT$942.03 billion (US$29.47 billion), compared with NT$1.11 trillion on Friday.

"With the index moving closer and closer to the historical intraday high of 48,218 points seen in June, many investors turned cautious for the moment, refraining from chasing prices, reducing today's turnover," Concord Securities analyst Kerry Huang said.

"Some of them even locked in earlier gains in tech heavyweights, trimming the Taiex's gains, especially in late trading," Huang said.

In the semiconductor industry, contract chipmaker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC), which accounts for over 40 percent of total market value, rose only 0.21 percent to close at NT$2,400.00, off a high of NT$2,420.00.

Among other semiconductor stocks that also came off their day's highs, smartphone IC designer MediaTek Inc. lost 3.80 percent to end at NT$4,050.00, and application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) designer Alchip Technologies Inc. shed 3.56 percent to close at NT$4,060.00.

Memory chip supplier Nanya Technology Corp. outperformed the broader market, rising 2.34 percent to end at NT$524.00 amid a continued supply shortage.

Also in the tech sector, iPhone assembler and AI server maker Hon Hai Precision Industry Co. lost 1.73 percent to close at NT$255.00, while Wistron Corp., another AI server supplier, ended down 3.36 percent at NT$187.00.

Bucking the downturn, Quanta Computer Inc., which also rolls out AI servers, rose 1.83 percent to close at NT$333.50.

Huang said funds rotated out of the tech sector into select old economy stocks, with shipping firms in focus amid higher freight rates.

Evergreen Marine Corp., Taiwan's largest container cargo shipper, rose 5.71 percent to end at NT$231.50, while Yang Ming Marine Transport Corp. closed up 6.01 percent at NT$54.70.

Wan Hai Lines Ltd. soared 10 percent, the maximum daily increase, to end at NT$99.60.

In the paper industry, Longchen Paper & Packaging Co. rose 8.02 percent to close at NT$11.45 after the company announced plans to restructure itself into a holding company, while buying interest spread to other paper makers with Baolong International Co. up 2.21 percent to end at NT$11.55.

With the financial index down 1.28 percent, Fubon Financial Holding Co. closed down 3.09 percent at NT$125.50, while Cathay Financial Holding Co. ended down 3.35 percent at NT$98.10.

"In a consolidation mode, the Taiex is expected to continue moving in a narrow range in the short term, with strong technical support around 44,000 points in the event of a correction," Huang said.

According to the Taiwan Stock Exchange, foreign institutional investors bought a net NT$45.45 billion worth of shares on the main board Monday.