■ Stocks down on profit-taking
Share prices closed 0.87 percent lower yesterday as investors took profits on the recent advance above the key 6,000 points level, in line with generally weaker regional markets, dealers said. They said sentiment may have been unsettled by fresh concerns over bird flu after reports that traces of a variant of the disease had been found near Tainan.
The TAIEX lost 52.88 points at 6,030.74, on turnover of NT$64.94 billion (US$1.94 billion).
■ Nanya denies purchase
Nanya Technology Corp (南亞科技), Taiwan's No.2 maker of memory chips for computers, yesterday denied reports that it would buy a memory-chip unit from its partner Infineon Technology AG.
"We deny this speculation and do not comment on any rumors," Nanya Technology spokesman Pai Pei-lin (白培霖) said in a company statement filed with the Taiwan Stock Exchange.
The statement came after Reuters reported that Infineon would sell its US memory assets to Micron Technology Inc and sell its non-US memory assets to Nanya Technology, including a flagship plant in Dresden, Germany, citing a research note published by US investment bank Needham & Co.
Infineon, the world's No.4 memory chipmaker, is a joint venture partner of Nanya Technology. Infineon holds a 50-percent stake in Inotera Memories Inc (華亞科技) based in northern Taiwan.
■ Logitech looking up
Logitech International SA, the world's biggest maker of computer mice, is eyeing more potential from its booming web camera business, an official said yesterday at a product launch.
"The maturing wireless broadband infrastructure and increased Internet population will improve our web camera business here," said Eric Chen (陳憲華), country manager for sales and marketing.
This segment is expected to contribute around 40 percent to the company's revenue in Taiwan next year, up from 30 percent this year, he added.
According to Chen, as more home users and mobile travelers opt for higher-end web cameras for better quality and functionality, this will benefit Logitech as it produces sophisticated web cameras.
Though web cameras priced below NT$1,000 currently account for 80 percent of the market, he believes that higher-end models will take center stage next year.
The company launched four new models of web cameras retailing from NT$2,650 to NT$4,290. These cameras come with a maximum of 1.3-megapixel resolution and a built-in microphone.
■ Confidence drops again
The nation's investment confidence weakened for second time in a row with the index hitting a new low at 93.3 points this month, dragged down by a fluctuating global financial market and domestic political disputes, according to a survey released by JF Asset Management Taiwan on Monday.
The bimonthly survey polled 1,084 investors nationwide between Oct. 19 and last Wednesday.
It said that nearly 70 percent of respondents had no intention of adding more investments.
Investor possession of local stocks in portfolios has also declined to a level of 57.6 percent from 63 percent at the beginning of this year as they divert investment overseas, the survey said.
As many as 78.3 percent of respondents said domestic politics was the main factor explaining the stock market's underperformance in comparison with its regional counterparts, it said.
■ NT dollar trades lower
The New Taiwan dollar traded lower against its US counterpart yesterday, declining NT$0.117 to close at NT$33.512 on the Taipei foreign exchange market.
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