Taiwan stocks fell for a third day on concern a contraction in the Japanese economy and sluggish US growth may crimp demand for the nation's electronic goods.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manu-facturing Co (TSMC,
The TWSE Index dropped 36.10, or 0.8 percent, to 4,302.16, down 4.6 percent for the week. Three stocks fell for every one that rose. The total value of trade was NT$33.87 billion (US$977 million), compared with NT$36.95 billion on Wednesday and NT$51.16 billion Tuesday.
"We're not seeing any signs of pick-up at all" for Taiwan technology goods, said Spencer White, head of research at Merrill Lynch Taiwan Ltd. "The market has priced in a fairly muted second half."
TSMC fell NT$1, or 1.6 percent, to NT$63. United Microelectronics Corp (UMC,
Computer parts makers declined on concerns demand from the US and Japan won't pick up. The Japanese economy shrank 0.8 percent in the second quarter from the first. The US takes more than a fifth of Taiwan's exports and Japan about 10 percent.
Notebook-computer maker Arima Computer Corp (
Some memory chipmakers slid as the spot price for their main product remains below the cost of production. The spot price for the 64-megabit dynamic random access memory chip is at US$0.75, according to DRAM Exchange, a market place for memory chips.
Winbond Electronics Corp (
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