Stocks fell, led by Cathay Financial Holding Co (國泰金控) and Fubon Financial Holding Co (富邦金控), after the government yesterday ordered banks to block customers with fever or flu-like symptoms from entering their branches to prevent the spread of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS).
``Taiwan is having difficulty controlling the spread of SARS,'' said Simon Chao (趙永宏), who manages US$17 million at President Investment Trust Corp (統一投信).
"Investors are getting panicky and started dumping shares at a alarming rate," he said.
The TAIEX fell 52.25, or 1.2 percent, to 4,148.07. The benchmark shed 4 percent this month, its third monthly decline. MSCI Taiwan futures for May delivery in Singapore shed 1.1 percent to 178.50. The Taiwan Futures Index fell 1.4 percent to 4,135.
Fubon fell NT$0.90, or 3.6 percent, to NT$23.80.
Cathay Financial lost NT$0.80, or 2 percent, to NT$38.90.
Separately, 10 companies will be added to the Morgan Stanley Capital International Inc indexes, while six will be removed, the index compiler said.
Eva Airways Corp (
Mediatek Inc. rose as much as 3.5 percent to NT$285. The two stocks will be added to the MSCI indexes from May 31.
Acer Inc was unchanged at NT$31.70 after falling as much as 1 percent. Profit in the first quarter plunged 84 percent to NT$660 million from a year ago, the company said in a statement. Sales, though, climbed to NT$13 billion from NT$5.4 billion a year ago.
Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (
Nan Ya Plastics Corp (南亞塑膠) fell NT$1, or 3.2 percent, to NT$30.20 after it said first-quarter profit fell 25 percent because its computer-memory chip making unit turned to a loss. Net income dropped to NT$3.55 billion in the first three months of 2003 from NT$4.72 billion a year ago, according to the company's statement to the Taiwan Stock Exchange. Sales rose 22 percent to NT$28.6 billion.
Computer-notebook maker Quanta Computer Inc (
Taiwan Semiconductor Manu-facturing Co (台積電) gained NT$2.7, or 6 percent, to NT$47.80. The company yesterday forecast prices, shipments of silicon wafers and factory usage will increase in the current quarter.
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
Nvidia Corp CEO Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) today announced that his company has selected "Beitou Shilin" in Taipei for its new Taiwan office, called Nvidia Constellation, putting an end to months of speculation. Industry sources have said that the tech giant has been eyeing the Beitou Shilin Science Park as the site of its new overseas headquarters, and speculated that the new headquarters would be built on two plots of land designated as "T17" and "T18," which span 3.89 hectares in the park. "I think it's time for us to reveal one of the largest products we've ever built," Huang said near the
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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