The TAIEX suffered its steepest decline in four-and-a-half months yesterday as Winbond Electronics Corp (華邦電子) and other memory chipmakers slumped by their daily limit on concern the price of chips will fall below the cost of production.
The index fell 197.90 points, or 3.3 percent, to 5,867.83, its lowest since March 1. Within the index, more than nine stocks fell for every one that rose. Trade totaled NT$100 billion (US$2.9 billion), almost a fifth below the six-month daily average.
The collapse of Micron Technology Inc's planned acquisition of South Korea's Hynix Semiconductor Inc on Tuesday disappointed investors who expected the creation of the world's No. 1 memory chipmaker to result in a cutback in production.
"That probably won't help resolve the oversupply problem," said Gregory Lue, who helps manage NT$4 billion (US$115 million) at Taiwan International Investment Management Co (
Winbond, Taiwan's second-largest computer-memory-chip maker by market value, fell NT$1.70, or 6.9 percent, to NT$22.80. Nanya Technology Corp (南亞科技) slid NT$2.80, or 6.9 percent, to NT$37.70.
Asustek Computer Inc (華碩電腦) fell NT$8.50, or 6.8 percent, to NT$117 after Morgan Stanley Dean Witter & Co cut its rating of the country's largest computer-motherboard company to "equal-weight-V" from "overweight."
Asustek posted a bigger- than-expected 41 percent decline in first-quarter profit.
Delta Electronics Inc (
Ritek Corp (
Silicon Integrated Systems Corp (
Siliconware Precision Industries Co (
Taiwan Green Point Enterprises Co (台灣綠點) rose NT$5.50, or 6.5 percent, to NT$90.50.
The company, which makes mobile-phone plastic molds for customers such as Motorola Inc and Alcatel SA, said first-quarter profit rose more than eightfold to NT$122.7 million.
Uni-President Enterprises Co (
Via Technologies Inc (
Yageo Corp (
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