Share prices closed 0.18 percent higher yesterday as selling in the bellwether electronics sector eroded early gains on the back of a rally overnight on Wall Street, dealers said.
The weighted index rose 12.74 points at 7,046.11 on turnover of NT$90.86 billion (US$2.88 billion).
While the index closed slightly higher, losers outnumbered gainers by 998 to 970 with 548 stocks unchanged.
The market opened higher as investors took their initial cue from Wall Street, but profit-taking set in later, dealers said.
The selling targeted the electronic sector ahead of Hon Hai Precision Industry Co’s (鴻海精密) half-year results due later this week.
Hon Hai, which makes a wide range of products from cellphones to personal computers, extended losses from Thursday, losing another 1.54 percent to NT$160.
“Investors have turned very cautious about Hon Hai’s bottom line after subsidiary Foxconn International Holdings Ltd (富士康) in China suffered a 56 percent decline in its first-half net profit,” President Securities (統一證券) analyst Steven Huang said.
Huang said the silver lining for the export-oriented high-tech sector was the weaker New Taiwan dollar.
But he said concerns over domestic economic fundamentals remained, prompting investors to take profit once they saw upside in the market.
For the week to yesterday, the TAIEX rose 134.47 points or 1.95 percent to 7,046.11 after a 3.96 percent fall a week earlier.
Average daily turnover stood at NT$82.05 billion, compared with NT$80.30 billion a week ago.
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