The nation's main stock index yesterday fell to a seven-and-a-half-year low after a government think tank halved its 2001 economic growth forecast to 2.4 percent.
Winbond Electronics Corp (
The TAIEX fell 147.86, or 3.2 percent, to 4,485.68, its lowest close since Dec. 1, 1993, and the biggest percentage drop since April 2. Electronics companies made up more than half the index's drop. For the week, Taiwan stocks fell 4.7 percent.
Academia Sinica, a state-run research institute, halved the nation's 2001 forecast, citing the global economy's faster-than-expected decline.
"That means Taiwan's economic growth in the second quarter may be lower than expected, negative even," said Leo Sheng, who manages NT$400 million in Taiwan stocks at Shinkong Investment Trust Co (
Within the index, 268 stocks fell, 149 rose, and 90 were unchanged. Trading at NT$59.3 billion (US$1.7 billion) was 23 percent lower than the six-month daily average of NT$77 billion.
Memory chipmakers fell after Rambus Inc, which licenses computer-memory patents to chipmakers, said a slowdown in personal-computer sales hurt third-quarter profit, and will cause fourth-quarter revenue to fall.
Winbond Electronics, Taiwan's biggest memory chipmaker by market value which plans to start making chips designed by Rambus in September, fell NT$1.8, or 6.6 percent, to NT$25.40. Nanya Technology Corp (
Powerchip Semiconductor Corp (
Companies that supply or compete with Advanced Micro Devices Inc fell after Intel's biggest rival in the market for computer processors and flash memory said second-quarter profit fell 92 percent on steep price cuts and slow demand.
VIA Technologies Inc (威盛電子), which makes chips that support Advanced Micro's processors, fell NT$11, or 5 percent, to NT$210. Macronix International Co (旺宏電子), Taiwan's biggest maker of chips which store data while cell phones and other devices are shut off, fell NT$2.2, or 6.9 percent, to NT$29.50.
Acer Inc (
Yageo Corp (
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