Stocks yesterday fell a second day, paced by Compal Electronics Inc (
The TAIEX fell 15.06, or 0.3 percent, to 4,537.39 after the latest Blue Chip Economic Indicators survey showed the US economy will probably expand 2.4 percent this year, lower than the 2.6 percent increase forecast last month.
The country's exports to the US, its second largest market after China, fell 0.8 percent last month from a year earlier, according to a Ministry of Finance report.
"The reality is that the end of the war is not a cure-all; exports are just one of the indicators that the macroeconomic and corporate fundamentals may not be as good as people expected," said Richard Huang, who manages NT$7.5 billion (US$215 million) of equities at Shinkong Investment Trust Co (新光投信).
Almost three stocks fell for every two that gained. The value of trade was NT$49.2 billion, or 26 percent less than the daily average in the past three months.
MSCI Taiwan futures for April delivery in Singapore fell 0.9 percent, to 193.20. The Taiwan Futures Index fell 0.9 percent to 4,505.
Compal fell NT$0.80, or 2.2 percent, to NT$35.90. Benq, the nation's biggest maker of mobile phones, fell NT$0.80, or 2 percent, to NT$39.30.
Compal, the world's second-largest maker of notebook computers, said March sales rose 21.6 percent from a year ago to NT$10.7 billion (US$307.4 million).
Sales were NT$8.8 billion in March last year. Sales in February this year were NT$8.9 billion.
Chi Mei Optoelectronics Corp (
Chunghwa Picture Tubes Ltd (
Chunghwa Telecom Co (
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