The TAIEX yesterday moved lower to close below 9,800 points amid rising concerns over corporate earnings after a local flat-panel maker announced that it would seek bankruptcy protection and a solar energy firm announced a debt restructuring a day earlier, dealers said.
In response, investors dumped shares in electronics heavyweights such as contract chipmaker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), while financially troubled Chunghwa Picture Tubes Ltd (中華映管) and multi-crystalline solar wafer supplier Green Energy Technology Inc (綠能) fell by the maximum daily limit, they said.
Turnover remained thin as many investors stayed on the sidelines, watching closely for positive developments in the talks between the US and China on resolving their trade dispute, they added.
The TAIEX closed down 84.60 points, or 0.86 percent, at 9,774.16 on turnover of NT$95.549 billion (US$3.1 billion).
Foreign institutional investors sold a net NT$6.82 billion of shares on the main board.
The market opened down 0.4 percent in a reaction to a mixed US market and the TAIEX plunged more than 100 points at one point as concerns over corporate earnings were raised by loss-incurring Chunghwa Picture Tubes and Green Energy, dealers said.
On Thursday, Chunghwa Picture Tubes’ board approved a plan to seek bankruptcy protection as the company has NT$34.8 billion in debt, while Green Energy, which has NT$11.43 billion in debt, said that it would file a debt restructuring application with the Ministry of Economic Affairs.
Chunghwa Picture Tubes and Green Energy shares both fell 10 percent to close at NT$1.17 and NT$5.52 respectively.
Selling in large-cap tech stocks pushed down shares in TSMC 1.55 percent to NT$222.5.
Led by TSMC, the bellwether electronics sector closed down 1.15 percent and the semiconductor subindex ended the day down 1.44 percent.
In the financial sector, which closed down 0.38 percent, Fubon Financial Holding Co (富邦金控) fell 1.25 percent to end at NT$47.45 and Cathay Financial Holding Co (國泰金控) lost 1.45 percent to finish at NT$47.55, while CTBC Financial Holding Co (中信金控) rose 1.74 percent to end at NT$20.45.
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