Stocks fell for the fourth day yesterday, led by Cathay Financial Holding Co (國泰金控) and Mega Financial Holding Co (兆豐金控), on concern government efforts to change the financial industry may be delayed after a political dispute.
The TAIEX shed 32.09, or 0.6 percent, to 5,611.41. The index lost 0.7 percent for the month, paring its gain this quarter to 15 percent. About 10 stocks gained for every nine that declined. The futures contract for October delivery fell 0.3 percent to 5,645.
About 2.4 billion shares changed hands, or 46 percent below the average in the past three months. Shares worth NT$50.5 billion were traded, the lowest in four months.
A dispute with the opposition over President Chen Shui-bian's (陳水扁) plan to promulgate a new constitution by 2006 may set back laws to quadruple the size of a fund created to help banks dispose of about NT$1.2 trillion (US$35 billion) of bad loans, some investors said.
"Renewed political bickering over the new constitution in 2006 will delay the parliamentary review of reform bills that are much needed by financial companies," said Celine Chiang, a fund manager at Polaris International Securities Investment Trust Co (寶來投信).
Cathay Financial, the nation's largest financial company by market value, fell NT$1.20, or 2.7 percent, to NT$44. Mega Financial fell 30 cents, or 1.7 percent, to NT$17.40.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (台積電) closed steady at NT$66.50 as firmer ADRs and positive global semiconductor August sales reported by the Semiconductor Industry Association offset concerns over the government's plan to dispose of about 600 million shares in TSMC through an ADR issue next year.
ISSUES: Gogoro has been struggling with ballooning losses and was recently embroiled in alleged subsidy fraud, using Chinese-made components instead of locally made parts Gogoro Inc (睿能創意), the nation’s biggest electric scooter maker, yesterday said that its chairman and CEO Horace Luke (陸學森) has resigned amid chronic losses and probes into the company’s alleged involvement in subsidy fraud. The board of directors nominated Reuntex Group (潤泰集團) general counsel Tamon Tseng (曾夢達) as the company’s new chairman, Gogoro said in a statement. Ruentex is Gogoro’s biggest stakeholder. Gogoro Taiwan general manager Henry Chiang (姜家煒) is to serve as acting CEO during the interim period, the statement said. Luke’s departure came as a bombshell yesterday. As a company founder, he has played a key role in pushing for the
China has claimed a breakthrough in developing homegrown chipmaking equipment, an important step in overcoming US sanctions designed to thwart Beijing’s semiconductor goals. State-linked organizations are advised to use a new laser-based immersion lithography machine with a resolution of 65 nanometers or better, the Chinese Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) said in an announcement this month. Although the note does not specify the supplier, the spec marks a significant step up from the previous most advanced indigenous equipment — developed by Shanghai Micro Electronics Equipment Group Co (SMEE, 上海微電子) — which stood at about 90 nanometers. MIIT’s claimed advances last
CROSS-STRAIT TENSIONS: The US company could switch orders from TSMC to alternative suppliers, but that would lower chip quality, CEO Jensen Huang said Nvidia Corp CEO Jensen Huang (黃仁勳), whose products have become the hottest commodity in the technology world, on Wednesday said that the scramble for a limited amount of supply has frustrated some customers and raised tensions. “The demand on it is so great, and everyone wants to be first and everyone wants to be most,” he told the audience at a Goldman Sachs Group Inc technology conference in San Francisco. “We probably have more emotional customers today. Deservedly so. It’s tense. We’re trying to do the best we can.” Huang’s company is experiencing strong demand for its latest generation of chips, called
GLOBAL ECONOMY: Policymakers have a choice of a small 25 basis-point cut or a bold cut of 50 basis points, which would help the labor market, but might reignite inflation The US Federal Reserve is gearing up to announce its first interest rate cut in more than four years on Wednesday, with policymakers expected to debate how big a move to make less than two months before the US presidential election. Senior officials at the US central bank including Fed Chairman Jerome Powell have in recent weeks indicated that a rate cut is coming this month, as inflation eases toward the bank’s long-term target of two percent, and the labor market continues to cool. The Fed, which has a dual mandate from the US Congress to act independently to ensure