Share prices closed slightly lower yesterday on profit-taking in line with Wall Street's fall on Friday, although the decline was offset by some foreign interest, dealers said.
Petrochemical and cement stocks came under selling pressure, while the tourism sector rallied as investors hoped the upcoming meetings between the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) would lead to the relaxation of tourism-related rules, they said.
Thin-film-transistor liquid crystal display makers were in focus following the AU Optronics Corp (
The weighted index closed down 1.30 points at 6,780.64, off a low of 6,758.07 and a high of 6,815.73, on turnover of NT$91.99 billion (US$2.84 billion).
The petrochemical sector was down 0.69 percent, the cement sector down 0.56 percent, while the tourism sector was up 1.94 percent and the steel sector up 1.92 percent.
Fubon Securities (富邦證券) senior vice president Frank Lin said investors decided to lock in profits after seeing Wall Street's weak performance on Friday.
"The lead from Wall Street set the tone for the local bourse and convinced investors to take profit," Lin said.
But he added that foreign investor interest in some heavyweight stocks helped offset some of the market's losses.
Some companies reported strong sales for last month and bolstered investor sentiment toward their stocks, he said.
In the tourism sector, Hotel Holiday Garden (
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