Taiwanese shares closed down 2.16 percent yesterday on uncertainty over the fate of the US government’s bailout plan for its financial market, dealers said.
The weighted index fell 131.20 points at 5,929.63 off a low of 5,881.58 and a high of 6,095.14 on turnover of NT$86.45 billion (US$2.70 billion).
Losers outnumbered gainers by 1,575 to 215 with 293 stocks unchanged.
For the week, the weighted index fell 40.75 points, or 0.68 percent, after a 5.39 percent increase a week earlier. Average daily turnover stood at NT$88.72 billion, compared with NT$91.70 billion a week ago.
The market opened slightly higher yesterday on Wall Street’s gains overnight but was dragged down quickly on concerns about the US bailout, which is awaiting approval by the US Congress.
“Many investors became very wary after witnessing the local market was even weaker than its counterparts in the region today,” Taiwan International Securities (金鼎證券) analyst Arch Shih (施博元) said.
Shih said passage of the US bailout plan would be key to market movement in the near term.
“If the plan fails to pay off, not only the global financial system but also the global economy will be affected,” Shih said.
Selling focused on high-priced stocks, dealers said, adding they suspected foreign institutional investors were dumping their holdings. Foreign investors sold a net NT$7.79 billion in Taiwanese shares yesterday, according to Taiwan Stock Exchange data.
Shih said that if the market failed to hold above 5,700 points, it was possible that it would test 5,500 points soon.
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