Taiwan stocks fell, led by Chunghwa Telecom Co Ltd (
The TWSE Index fell 56.53, or 1.1 percent, to 5,209.71. Within the index, 246 stocks fell, 180 rose and 82 were unchanged. Trade at NT$75.5 billion (US$2.2 billion) was 6 percent lower than the six-month daily average of NT$80.5 billion.
The government sold Chunghwa Telecom shares at a 2.4 percent discount to the company's closing price yesterday.
"There's insufficient interest to buy the stock at that price," said Clint Cheng, who helps manage US$30 million in Asian stocks at Prudential Securities Investment Trust Ltd (
The New Taiwan dollar fell 0.6 percent to NT$34.24 against the US dollar in earlier trading, further damping investor confidence in Taiwan stocks on concern the currency may fall further.
Chunghwa Telecom fell NT$1, or 1.7 percent, to NT$58. The government sold NT$255.7 million worth of shares in Chunghwa yesterday at an average price of NT$57.56 each, a 2.4 percent discount to yesterday's closing price of NT$59. The sale was the fourth of a series of auctions to sell 480 million shares, or 5 percent of the company, over the next two weeks.
Banks rose on optimism the Legislative Yuan will pass laws that would speed up mergers in the industry. The Executive Yuan submitted 18 draft laws, including the Financial Holding Company Law, to the legislature for approval at a special session, the local media reported, citing Cabinet Secretary-General Chiou I-jen (邱義仁).
China Development Industrial Bank (
Chipmakers that make chips on a made-to-order basis fell, after Advanced Semiconductor Manufacturing Engineering Inc(日月光半導體) lowered second-quarter sales forecasts by more than two-thirds from its previous estimate.
The second-biggest provider of chip-assembly services, whose customers include Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC,
TSMC fell NT$3, or 3.1 percent, to NT$94.
UMC, its smaller rival, fell NT$2, or 3.6 percent, to NT$53.
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