Stocks down on stronger Taiwan dollar, tech gloom

Stocks fell yesterday as investors turned negative on companies sensitive to the strengthening Taiwan dollar and on a gloomy technology sector outlook, analysts said.

The Weighted Price Index of the Taiwan Stock Exchange finished 56.07 points lower, or 1 percent, at 5,855.24 in dealings valued at NT$57.5 billion (US$1.78 billion).

Decliners outnumbered advancers 512 to 127, while 128 issues ended the day unchanged.

The sell-off effectively erased gains from Wednesday's rally.

Fund managers say investors are worried a stronger Taiwan dollar could hurt technology companies' profits, because their goods are sold mainly at prices quoted in US dollars.

The electronics subindex fell 1 percent yesterday, as investors sold off shares of dynamic random memory chipmakers. Morgan Stanley warned in a report that the DRAM sector has peaked.

Nanya Technology (南亞科技), the nation's second largest DRAM maker, ended 2.6 percent down at NT$22.5. The company's main rival, over-the-counter listed Powerchip Semiconductor (力晶半導體), closed off 3.9 percent lower at NT$22.10.

The world's largest contract chipmaker, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (台積電), shed 1.2 percent to NT$48.30, while smaller rival United Microelectronics Corp (聯電) dropped 1.5 percent to NT$20.40.

The rising Taiwan dollar weighed on some of the country's biggest gadget exporters. Quanta Computer (廣達電腦), the world's largest notebook computer maker, fell 1.9 percent to NT$53.