Stocks fell for a third day, led by Quanta Computer Inc (
Chipmakers Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC,
The TAIEX tumbled 94.04, or 2.2 percent, to 4,139.50. The benchmark index has fallen 9.3 percent over the past three days, its steepest fall since the three days that ended Sept. 19, 2001. Only 55 of the 610 stocks on the Taiwan Stock Exchange gained.
MSCI Taiwan futures for April delivery in Singapore declined 1.6 percent to 176.90. The Taiwan Futures Index dropped 2 percent to 4,125.
"We believe many investors have overlooked potential demand implications" of SARS, Kirk Yang, an analyst at Smith Barney, said in a report.
"Technology spending is closely correlated with economic growth, PC and handset demand in China could be negatively affected," he said.
Citigroup has cut its forecast of China's economic growth to 6.7 percent from 7.6 percent, the report said.
TSMC fell NT$1.5, or 3.3 percent, to NT$44.
Citigroup analyst Clark Westmont cut his recommendation for the chip industry to "underweight" from "market weight." Inventories of chips have risen and share prices already reflect earnings prospects, Westmont said in a note to clients.
Quanta Computer, which makes notebook computers at a plant near Shanghai, fell NT$2, or 3 percent, to NT$64. Asustek, which makes more of its motherboards in China, fell NT$3, or 4.3 percent, to NT$66.50.
"Investor confidence has been destroyed by the SARS outbreak," said Reming Yu, chief investment officer at Prudential Securities Investment Trust Co (
CMC Magnetics Corp (中環) rose NT$0.10, or 0.6 percent, to NT$16.40. BenQ Corp (明基電通) fell NT$1.7, or 4.5 percent, to NT$35.80.
Powerchip Semiconductor Corp (力晶半導體) fell NT$0.55, or 6.5 percent, to NT$7.95. It said it turned to a first-quarter loss of NT$2 billion after sales tumbled. The company had net income of NT$611 million a year earlier. Sales, previously announced, fell 18 percent to NT$3.1 billion from NT$3.8 billion.
The Eurovision Song Contest has seen a surge in punter interest at the bookmakers, becoming a major betting event, experts said ahead of last night’s giant glamfest in Basel. “Eurovision has quietly become one of the biggest betting events of the year,” said Tomi Huttunen, senior manager of the Online Computer Finland (OCS) betting and casino platform. Betting sites have long been used to gauge which way voters might be leaning ahead of the world’s biggest televised live music event. However, bookmakers highlight a huge increase in engagement in recent years — and this year in particular. “We’ve already passed 2023’s total activity and
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China yesterday announced anti-dumping duties as high as 74.9 percent on imports of polyoxymethylene (POM) copolymers, a type of engineering plastic, from Taiwan, the US, the EU and Japan. The Chinese Ministry of Commerce’s findings conclude a probe launched in May last year, shortly after the US sharply increased tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles, computer chips and other imports. POM copolymers can partially replace metals such as copper and zinc, and have various applications, including in auto parts, electronics and medical equipment, the Chinese ministry has said. In January, it said initial investigations had determined that dumping was taking place, and implemented preliminary
Intel Corp yesterday reinforced its determination to strengthen its partnerships with Taiwan’s ecosystem partners including original-electronic-manufacturing (OEM) companies such as Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) and chipmaker United Microelectronics Corp (UMC, 聯電). “Tonight marks a new beginning. We renew our new partnership with Taiwan ecosystem,” Intel new chief executive officer Tan Lip-bu (陳立武) said at a dinner with representatives from the company’s local partners, celebrating the 40th anniversary of the US chip giant’s presence in Taiwan. Tan took the reins at Intel six weeks ago aiming to reform the chipmaker and revive its past glory. This is the first time Tan
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