TAIEX dips slightly; DRAM chipmakers lead the decline

Shares ended slightly lower yesterday after spending most of the session in positive territory.

The TAIEX finished 3.18 points, or 0.1 percent, lower at 5,890.83 on turnover of NT$53.06 billion (US$1.71 billion). Advancers outnumbered decliners 461 to 350, while 214 issues ended the day unchanged.

Makers of dynamic random access memory chips led yesterday's decline.

The nation's largest DRAM maker Powerchip Semiconductor Corp (力晶半導體) was 1.4 percent lower at NT$24.25.

Shares in the world's two largest contract chipmakers closed mixed. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (台積電) ended 1.1 percent higher at NT$54.9 and United Microelectronics Corp (聯電) finished 0.7 percent lower at NT$20.1.

Makers of liquid crystal display panels rose with AU Optronics Corp (友達光電) up 0.4 percent at NT$51 and Chi Mei Optoelectronics Corp (奇美電子) 1.1 percent higher at NT$49.50.

MediaTek Inc (聯發科技) lost 0.93 percent to NT$267.00 on concerns over an initial ruling by the US International Trade Commission on patent infringement claims filed against it by US firms Zoran Corp and Oak Technology Inc.

CMC Magnetics Corp (中環), Taiwan's largest maker of recordable compact discs, rose after a Chinese-language newspaper reported that the company may return to profit in the second quarter as prices of discs increase.

CMC Magnetics added 1.9 percent to NT$13.55. Prices of discs have risen 10 percent to 15 percent in the second quarter, the newspaper said, citing Chairman Bob Wong (翁明顯).