TAIEX inches down
The TAIEX moved in a narrow range yesterday amid cautious sentiment ahead of decisions expected from the US Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank later in the week designed to boost the fragile economy, dealers said.
Large-cap stocks, in particular in the high-tech sector, came under heavier pressure due to demand concerns, while select domestic demand-oriented stocks attracted buying to prevent the broader market from falling further, they said.
The weighted index closed down 2.53 points, or 0.03 percent, at 7,267.96, after moving between 7,223.17 and 7,273.62, on turnover of NT$89.70 billion (US$2.99 billion).
Furloughed workers increase
The number of furloughed workers increased slightly over the past two weeks, the Council of Labor Affairs said yesterday.
The council said 22 companies reported 628 employees who were on leave without pay as of the end of last month, compared with 20 companies reporting 610 furloughed employees as of July 15, said Chen Hui-ling (陳慧玲), chief of the council’s Department of Labor Standards.
Meanwhile, Minister of Economic Affairs Shih Yen-shiang (施顏祥) said on Tuesday the issue of raising minimum wage should be approached cautiously, while Petrochemical Industry Association of Taiwan (台灣石油化學公會) chairman Chen Wu-hsiung (陳武雄) said he did not favor the discussion of the issue at a time when the economy is not faring well.
Projector shipments decline
Shipments of projectors in Taiwan in the second quarter fell 11.6 percent sequentially and 11.9 percent year-on-year, the International Data Corporation (IDC) said in a report released on Tuesday.
The report said the five top-selling vendors of projectors were Epson Taiwan Technology and Trading Ltd (台灣愛普生), Optoma Corp (奧圖碼), BenQ Corp (明基), NEC Corp and ViewSonic International Corp.
Together they accounted for 74.3 percent of the total projector shipments in the second quarter, the report said, with Epson taking the lead with 24 percent market share.
Acer releases board salaries
Each board member of computer giant Acer Inc (宏碁) was paid NT$120,000 (US$4,000) for their services on the company’s board of directors last year, far shy of the previous count per person, the company said on Tuesday.
According to Taiwan Stock Exchange data, the amount of compensation Acer earmarked for its board of directors last year totaled NT$1.63 billion, with each director eligible for NT$233 million on average.
The company clarified that the actual number each board member received was far lower, because most of the earmarked money went instead into a huge severance payout and compensation package given to former chief executive and president Gianfranco Lanci — NT$1.28 billion in severance and NT$202 million in pay and bonus.
NT dollar gains
The New Taiwan dollar maintained its advantage over the US dollar yesterday, rising NT$0.022 to close at NT$29.988 as the local currency followed the South Korean won to extend strength on lingering hopes that the world’s major central banks will pump more funds into the market to lift the economy, dealers said.
However, a fall in manufacturing activity in China for July deflated the regional currencies somewhat amid rising concerns over the global economic slowdown, dealers said.
Turnover totaled US$758 million during the trading session.
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