Weak Wall Street, pricey oil dampen market enthusiasm

Share closed sharply lower yesterday with sentiment dampened by Wall Street's weakness and the spike in crude oil prices which breached US$70 per barrel in Asian trade, dealers said.

They said the surge in energy prices heightened concerns about their impact on global economic development.

Wafer and dynamic random access memory (DRAM) chipmakers led falls on concerns for product prices, while futures-related selling pressure ahead of settlements also hit trade.

The weighted index closed down 87.11 points or 1.42 percent at 6,049.44, after moving between 6,130.79 and 6,031.20, on turnover of NT$60.06 billion (US$1.85 billion).

Decliners led gainers 734 to 171, with 131 stocks unchanged.

Five stocks closed limit-up, while 21 were limit-down.

The electronics sector was down 1.94 percent, tourism down 1.84 percent, transport down 1.72 percent and financials down 1.27 percent.

"The oil factor weighed on sentiment in the region, including Taipei today," said Frank Lin, senior vice president with Fubon Securities Corp (富邦證券).

"High oil prices sparked worries over inflation and the economy," he said, adding that they had also raised concerns about foreign capital flows and the stance of foreign investors.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manu-facturing Co (台積電) closed down NT$1.50 at NT$51.30 and United Microelectronics Corp (聯電) lost NT$0.85 to NT$19.70.

BenQ Corp (明基) fell NT$0.90 to NT$30.10 after applying to the Securities and Futures Bureau (SFB) in relation to an offer of global depositary receipts to raise US$318.98 million.