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TAIEX slides on US economy fears

Shares closed 0.81 percent lower yesterday, tracking the slide on Wall Street overnight on concerns about US consumer spending and the state of the US economy following weak retail sales for last month, dealers said.

Bellwether technology stocks fell in step with the pullback by their US counterparts, they said.

Weakness in a number of regional markets also helped drag down local sentiment, dealers said.

The TAIEX closed down 65.32 points at 8,031.54. Turnover was thin at NT$82.35 billion (US$2.47 billion).

Decliners outnumbered advancers 806 to 319, with 234 stocks unchanged.

Fuhwa Securities Corp (復華證券) assistant vice president Samson Chueh (闕山雄) said heavyweight technology stocks were pressured by sluggish trade in their US peers.

"The New York lead triggered profit-taking on the local bourse following previous rises," Chueh said.

Investors followed a cautious approach after the market's recent failure to push the index further beyond 8,100 points.

"With technical resistance present, investors were reluctant to commit so much to position-building," he said, adding that caution over technical factors were compounded by political concerns.

For the week to May 11, the weighted index closed down 34.52 points or 0.43 percent after a 1.47 percent increase a week earlier.

Average daily turnover stood at NT$92.06 billion, compared with NT$101.24 billion.

"The market is expected to remain quiet on falling liquidity next week," Yuanta Core Pacific Capital Management (元大京華投顧) analyst Jacky Tam said.

Daily turnover fell to NT$82.35 billion dollars yesterday.

"During the consolidation, the best policy is to watch instead of cutting holdings as the market is expected to revive later this year on improving corporate fundamentals," Tam said.
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