Chunghwa Telecom, TSMC lead decliners

Stocks fell, paced by Chunghwa Telecom Co (中華電信), after the government said it plans to sell about a third of the company this year. Chunghwa Telecom fell NT$1, or 1.7 percent, to NT$57.

The TAIEX slid 91.50, or 1.9 percent, to close at 4,643.87. More than three stocks fell for every one that gained.

MSCI Taiwan futures for this month's delivery in Singapore fell 0.8 percent to 193.4. The Taiwan Futures Index fell 1.3 percent to 4,640.

Trading at NT$59.9 billion (US$1.7 billion) was 31 percent lower than the daily average in the past three months.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manu-facturing Co (TSMC,台積電) fell NT$1.30, or 3.1 percent, to NT$40.70. The stock has fallen 15 percent in three trading days since Jan. 28, when it said only 60 percent of capacity will be used in the first quarter, down from 61 percent in the fourth.

"The sluggish demand for chips is evidence that the recovery is nowhere insight,'' said Phil Chen, who manages Grand Cathay Securities Investment Trust Co's (大華投信) US$46 million High-Tech Fund. Chen has sold TSMC and United Microelectronics Corp (UMC, 聯電) shares last year and does not plan to buy.

AU Optronics Corp (友達光電) rose NT$0.50, or 2.1 percent, to NT$24. The company on Feb. 7 said a war between the US and Iraq would not affect demand for flat panels because demand has recovered since the fourth quarter, the Central News Agency reported, citing company chairman Lee Kun-yao (李焜耀).

China Motor Co (中華汽車) fell NT$1, or 1.5 percent, to NT$64 after the company said sales last month fell 22 percent from a year earlier.

Winbond Electronics Corp (華邦電子) fell NT$0.15, or 1.1 percent, to NT$13.8. Contract prices of computer-memory chips for this month declined about 10 percent to 20 percent, a local newspaper reported, without citing the source of its information.