Taiwanese shares yesterday plunged 1.33 percent in Taipei trading, falling below the one-year moving average of 10,820 points, due to a slide in high-tech stocks and a stronger US dollar that led foreign institutional investors to sell more local holdings.
The TAIEX closed down 145.03 points to end at 10,718.91 points for a third consecutive day of decline, with turnover totaling NT$109.76 billion, Taiwan Stock Exchange data showed.
Among high-tech stocks, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (台積電), the largest contract chipmaker in the world, fell 2.3 percent to finish at NT$254 amid the heavy selling pressure, while Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密), the world’s largest contract electronics maker, dropped 2.06 percent to NT$76.2.
SHOW OF FORCE
Taiwanese shares fell due to the strong US dollar, the weakening of emerging market currencies and a CNN report about a proposal from the US Navy’s Pacific Fleet to stage a “major show of force” to warn China, Financial Supervisory Commission Chairman Wellington Koo (顧立雄) said.
Shares in other stock markets around the region fell, including a drop of 1.52 percent in South Korea and a 1.72 percent decline in Hong Kong, the commission said.
Listed Taiwanese firms are profitable and strong, Koo said, adding that he believed shares would rise in the near term.
As of the end of June, the pre-tax profit of all listed companies in Taiwan reached NT$11.55 trillion (US$375.1 billion), up 20.61 percent from a year earlier, commission data showed.
As of end of August, total revenue of listed companies increased 10.21 percent from a year earlier to NT$21.51 trillion, the data showed.
The commission said it would closely monitor Taiwanese shares and foreign financial markets.
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