Fears push shares lower
Share prices closed 0.42 percent lower yesterday as investors stayed on the sidelines amid continued worries over the health of the economy.
The weighted index dropped 28.4 points to 6,690.75 on turnover of NT$78.63 billion (US$2.4 billion).
Losers outnumbered gainers 1,361 to 834, while 228 stocks remained unchanged.
The market opened low and stayed in negative territory during most of the trading session despite some bargain-hunting in construction and asset-related plays, analysts said.
“Investors were reluctant to build up portfolios” due to a lack of positive leads, said Allen Lin of Concord Securities (康和證券).
The reluctance also accounted for the continued decline in trading volume over recent weeks, he said, adding that if the trend continues, the market may test 6,100 points next month.
Biotech shares dropped by 2.35 percent on profit-taking. Yung Shin Pharmaceutical Co (永信藥品) dropped 4.5 percent to NT$37.8 and Phyto Health fell 4.82 percent to NT$49.4.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (台積電) was 0.3 percent lower at NT$58.8 while United Microelectronics Corp (聯電) lost 1.82 percent at NT$13.45.
Acer posts 20% drop in profit
Acer Inc (宏碁), the world’s third-largest computer supplier, posted a 20 percent drop in second-quarter profit after the company lacked one-time gains posted a year earlier.
Net income declined to NT$2.34 billion (US$71 million) from NT$2.93 billion a year earlier, the Taipei-based firm said yesterday.
The computer maker increased shipments of its low-cost Aspire One notebooks, which helped it grab market share from bigger rival Dell Inc amid the global recession. The release of the higher-priced Timeline, Acer’s long-battery-life laptop, may help the company boost revenue in the second half as the world economy recovers.
“Despite a tough economy, Acer’s product strategy enables it to continue to gain market share,” Patty Liu, an analyst who rates the company as “buy” at BNP Paribas in Taipei, wrote in a report on Tuesday. “Strength in China, share gains in the US and recovery of Europe PC demand are key drivers for stronger second-half growth.”
The profit was in line with the NT$2.34 billion median of 13 analyst estimates compiled by Bloomberg. Revenue in the second quarter fell 4.6 percent to NT$119 billion, while operating profit, or sales less the cost of goods sold and administrative expenses, climbed 12 percent to NT$3.04 billion.
iPhone lite to hit China
China Unicom (中國聯通) and computer giant Apple are to announce plans by the end of the week to sell a stripped-down iPhone without Wi-Fi in China, the world’s biggest mobile market, local media said yesterday.
The two companies reached an agreement on major issues including prices and order volumes, Caijing magazine reported on its Web site, citing an unnamed source close to the negotiations.
The 8 gigabyte and 16 gigabyte iPhones could be sold as early as next month, with their wireless Internet functions disabled in compliance with a Chinese ban on the device, the report said.
The iPhone is likely to be priced from 2,999 yuan (US$439), with a requirement that customers also buy 3,000 yuan worth of pre-paid calls, the report said.
Chunghwa buys big from Nokia
Chunghwa Telecom Co, Taiwan’s biggest phone company, bought NT$3.1 billion (US$94 million) in third-generation equipment from Nokia Siemens Networks, the Taipei-based firm said in an exchange filing.
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