Share prices closed 0.46 percent lower yesterday as late profit-taking wiped out early gains driven by futures-related interest after Wall Street's overnight gains, dealers said.
Trading opened higher amid ample liquidity and investor interest ahead of the settlement of Singapore Exchange's April futures contracts on MSCI's Taiwan index before profit-taking set in, they said.
The TAIEX closed down 32.77 points at the day's low of 7,136.21, on turnover of NT$170.71 billion (US$5.33 billion).
Taiwan Semiconductor Man-ufacturing Co (台積電), the world's largest chip foundry by revenue, fell 2.6 percent to NT$67.20.
After the market closed, it reported a near doubling in its first-quarter net profit to NT$32.61 billion in the year-earlier period.
United Microelectronics Corp (聯電) dropped 3.4 percent to NT$21.55, after it said on Wednesday that its first quarter operating profit fell 72 percent.
Its net profit surged eight-fold, mostly due to proceeds from its sale of an investment company.
Bucking the trend in the tech sector, however, was Advanced Semiconductor Engineering Inc (
The company said on Wednesday that it swung to a first-quarter net profit of NT$3.18 billion in the year-earlier period.
It was its highest quarterly earnings in seven years.
On the Taipei foreign exchange market, the New Taiwan dollar rose on exporters' deals and inflows of foreign funds.
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