Shares ended lower for a third consecutive session yesterday as flat panel stocks posted steep declines on product price concerns, analysts said.
The TAIEX closed down 109.72 points, or 1.8 percent, at 5,979.56. Decliners well outnumbered advancers 582 to 127 with 102 stocks unchanged.
Turnover rose to NT$99.24 billion (US$2.92 billion) from NT$86.24 billion on Monday.
Liquid-crystal-display (LCD) panel makers were hit after the world's second-biggest flat screen producer, LG.Philips LCD Co, said on Monday that it expects panel prices to continue falling through the first half of next year.
"LG's gloomy outlook hurt its local counterparts and also trig-gered a sell-off in the whole technology sector," said Tu Jin-lung (杜金龍), the chairman of Grand Cathay Investment Services (大華投顧).
AU Optronics Corp (友達光電), the world's third-largest flat-panel maker, ended 4.8 percent lower at NT$41.50.
Chi Mei Optoelectronics Corp (
Elsewhere in the tech sector, shares in market heavyweight Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (台積電) closed down 0.5 percent at NT$42.60, while United Microelectronics Corp (聯電) slipped 2.4 percent to NT$20.10.
"There were signs of a halt to the recent buying spree by foreign investors as they started to lighten their local holdings," Tu said.
The Taiwan Stock Exchange said overseas investors bought a net NT$42.42 billion in stocks last week, but sold a net NT$1.28 billion in shares yesterday.
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