Taiwan stocks fell, led by chipmakers, after United Microelec-tronics Corp (UMC, 聯電) had a lower-than-expected second-quarter profit and cut spending on machines.
The TAIEX dropped 64.66, or 1.3 percent, to 4940.38 as more than five stocks fell for every two that rose. The total value of trade was NT$59 billion (US$1.74 billion), 16 percent below the three-month daily average.
UMC declined NT$1, or 3 percent, to NT$32.30 after it said Tuesday profit of NT$4.4 billion (US$132 million). The company cut its spending on machines and plants almost a fifth to US$1.3 billion.
"People expected UMC might say something good about the outlook, but its message was confusing," said Katherine Chen, who manages NT$800 million in stocks at International Investment Trust Co (國際投信). "When the index rises above 5,000, there's a lot of selling pressure as investors remain concerned about the third quarter." Nanya Technology Corp (南亞科技) fell NT$2.10, or 6.1 percent, to NT$32.10. The chipmaker said it may cut its pre-tax profit forecast for the year by more than two-thirds to NT$4 billion after chip prices rose less than it expected.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manu-facturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) slid NT$1.50, or 2.9 percent, to NT$50.50. Nvidia Corp, which designs chips for Microsoft Corp's Xbox and has them made by TSMC, said second-quarter revenue dropped as much as US$172.9 million from the first quarter, as demand for processors waned.
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