Share prices closed up 0.34 percent yesterday on technical factors, but the market was still weighed down by concerns over President Chen Shui-bian's (陳水扁) tightening China policy, dealers said.
Coupled with a lackluster Wall Street performance on Friday, investors found few incentives to trade, particularly after Intel's latest revenue warning, they said.
The weighted index closed up 22.12 points at 6,575.78, off a low of 6,531.50 and a high of 6,582.21, on turnover of NT$84.28 billion (US$2.59 billion).
Decliners led risers 491 to 458, with 178 stocks unchanged.
Nine stocks closed limit-down and 21 limit-up.
"Concerns over a possible straining in already tense relations across the Taiwan Strait remained a drag on the market," said Oliver Fang, a Yuanta Core Pacific Securities (元大京華證券) assistant vice president who serves mainly foreign investors.
"Some may say the market showed quite a bit of resilience today," he said. "But that is no guarantee against a decisive downturn in the near term."
Investor confidence is quite shaky at this moment and could be readily swayed by any further negative developments on the political front, he said.
Further, the political scene can only be a source of uncertainty as both the ruling and opposition parties are planning to stage rallies to demonstrate their respective positions on Chen's recent decision to scrap the National Unification Council, he said.
Bargain-hunting was the most evident in makers of thin-film-transistor liquid crystal display panels, reversing their early declines due to mounting pressure on panel prices, dealers said.
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