Stocks fell yesterday, led by electronic companies such as Quanta Computer Inc (廣達電腦), as investors judged the TAIEX's 84 percent gain since Oct. 3 as already anticipating a pick up in earnings this year.
"It's quite natural that it will consolidate after rising so much," said Steven Hsieh, who manages about NT$2.5 billion (US$71 million) in Taiwan stocks at Dresdner Asset Management Taiwan Ltd.
The TAIEX dropped 99.12, or 1.8 percent, to 5,510.71, after shedding as much as 2 percent and rising as much as 1 percent throughout the day. Within the index, 409 stocks fell and 87 rose. The total value of trade yesterday was NT$68.2 billion, the lowest since Nov. 29.
Computer parts makers slid. The electronics index has surged 84 percent since Oct. 3, its lowest since March 1997, compared to the 60 percent gain in the TAIEX.
Acer Inc (宏電) fell NT$1.10, or 5.3 percent, to NT$19.60, though the stock has more than doubled since Oct. 3.
Quanta, the nation's biggest notebook computer maker, shed NT$6.50, or 5.3 percent, to NT$117, though the stock has risen 98 percent since Sept. 24.
VIA Technologies Inc (威盛電子), the second-biggest chipset seller, lost NT$5, or 3.5 percent, to NT$137. The stock is up 96 percent since Oct. 8.
Memory chipmakers declined. Creditors of Hynix Semiconductor Inc, the ailing No. 3 maker of memory chips for computers, want better terms on a US$4 billion bid from rival Micron Technologies Inc for the company's plants, Yonhap News Agency reported Sunday.
Winbond Technologies Corp (華邦電子) shed NT$1.10, or 4.2 percent, to NT$25. Powerchip Semiconductor Corp (力晶半導體) dropped NT$1.90, or 6.8 percent, to NT$26.
ProMos Technologies Inc (茂德科技) fell NT$0.90, or 2.5 percent, to NT$34.50. Nanya Technology Corp (南亞科技) declined NT$0.30, or 0.7 percent, to NT$45.10.
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