Taiex ends down on higher U.S. Treasury yields, crude oil prices

Taipei, Sept. 29 (CNA) Shares in Taiwan closed lower Tuesday as rising U.S. Treasury yields and international crude oil prices raised concerns that the Federal Reserve could raise interest rates to tame inflation, dealers said.

The Taiex, the Taiwan Stock Exchange's benchmark index, ended down 392.64 points, or 0.82 percent, at 47,631.96 after moving between 47,573.09 and 48,045.13. Turnover totaled NT$785.04 billion (US$24.68 billion).

"U.S. Treasury yields and crude oil prices continued to climb, boosting the possibility of the Fed raising interest rates to around 70 percent in October," Moore Securities Investment Consulting analyst Adam Lin said.

"Interest rate-sensitive tech stocks came under pressure throughout the session, with the sell-off increasing in the afternoon as investors took cues from losses in the Tokyo and Seoul markets," Lin said.

The bellwether electronics index fell 1.02 percent, driving the Taiex lower.

Among the falling semiconductor stocks, smartphone IC designer MediaTek Inc. shed 7.10 percent to close at NT$4,910.00, application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) designer Alchip Technologies Ltd. fell 3.25 percent to end at NT$3,685.00, and IC packaging and testing firm ASE Technology Holding Co. closed down 1.72 percent at NT$687.00.

"Fortunately, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) showed resilience. Otherwise, the Taiex would have fallen further," Lin said.

After its American depositary receipts rose 0.50 percent overnight, contract chipmaker TSMC, which accounts for more than 40 percent of the market's total capitalization, ended unchanged at NT$2,475.00.

Also in the tech sector, power management solution provider Delta Electronics Inc. fell 3.93 percent to close at NT$1,835.00, and passive electronic component maker Yageo Corp. shed 5.52 percent to end at NT$548.00.

iPhone assembler and AI server maker Hon Hai Precision Industry Co. closed unchanged at NT$250.50. Bucking the downturn, PC brand Asustek Computer Inc. rose 1.05 percent to end at NT$963.00.

"Rising crude oil prices cut both ways. For petrochemical stocks, they were positive," Lin said. "But other nontech stocks largely moved lower in line with the Taiex."

With the petrochemical index up 1.97 percent, Formosa Petrochemical Corp. surged 8.14 percent to close at NT$94.30, while Nan Ya Plastics Corp. ended up 3.78 percent at NT$247.00. Formosa Plastics Corp. closed up 0.78 percent at NT$64.60, and Formosa Chemicals & Fibre Corp. ended 0.75 percent higher at NT$67.50.

However, King's Town Construction Co. lost 1.72 percent to close at NT$34.25, while Highwealth Construction Corp. ended down 2.28 percent at NT$38.60.

Outperforming the financial index, which fell 0.54 percent, Fubon Financial Holding Co. rose 1.00 percent to close at NT$151.50, while Cathay Financial Holding Co. ended up 0.90 percent at NT$111.50.

"Tomorrow is the last trading day of the third quarter. I expect local institutional investors will buy to dress up their books for the quarter, which will support the Taiex," Lin said.

According to the Taiwan Stock Exchange, foreign institutional investors sold a net NT$63.20 billion worth of shares on the main board Tuesday.