Share prices closed 1.48 percent lower yesterday on Wall Street's continued falls overnight and concerns about upcoming corporate results -- after much worse-than-expected earnings at IBM, Sun and Samsung Electronics rattled the tech sector.
Dealers said the decisive move downward to leave the market well short of the key 6,000-point level was of concern, suggesting a major correction could be in the offing.
The TAIEX closed down 88.31 points at 5,888.37, on turnover of NT$79.06 billion (US$2.5 billion).
Decliners led gainers 744 to 145, with 117 stocks unchanged.
The steel sector was down 4.11 percent, textiles fell 2.69 percent, financials 2.18 percent, cement 1.74 percent, petrochemicals 1.68 percent and the dominant electronics sector shed 0.89 percent.
Jih Sun Securities Investment Consulting Co (日盛投顧) assistant vice president Michael Hsu (許派一) said old-economy stocks were hit by concerns over higher costs.
"Old-economy stocks were hit on worries over prospects for profits given uncertainties surrounding the likelihood of cost-driven price hikes," he said.
"Investors are uncertain if these industries can fully pass on raw material prices hikes" to their customers, thus raising the prospect of profit margins suffering, Hsu said.
He said the outlook was unclear and much would depend on how the key electronics sector fares.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manu-facturing Co (
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