Taiwanese shares yesterday closed below the 9,000-point mark, due to a drop in financial stocks, led by state-run Mega Financial Holding Co (兆豐金控) and a heavy depreciation of the New Taiwan dollar against the US dollar, dealers said.
The weighted index on the Taiwan Stock Exchange ended down 52.46 points, or 0.58 percent, at 8,981.81. Turnover totaled NT$68.49 billion (US$2.15 billion) during the session.
It was the first time since July 29 that the index closed below 9,000 points and was the lowest closing level since July 15, when it ended at 8,949.85.
The drop was led by Mega Financial, which opened at NT$22.6 then plunged 6.3 percent to end at NT$22.3.
Overshadowed by Mega International Commercial Bank’s (兆豐銀行) alleged violations of US money-laundering laws, the stock at one point dropped 7.35 percent to NT$22.05, the lowest level since April 12.
Mega bank is the flagship banking unit of Mega Financial.
The plunge in Mega bank shares dragged on other financial stocks and the financial index closed 1.41 percent lower, dealers said.
Among the falling large-cap financial stocks were Cathay Financial Holding Co (國泰金), which dropped 1.33 percent to close at NT$37, Fubon Financial Holding Co (富邦金) which lost 1.21 percent to end at NT$40.7 and CTBC Financial Holding Co (中信金), down 1.59 percent at NT$18.6.
Led by these large-cap stocks, the financial subindex ended down 1.41 percent.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (台積電), the most heavily weighted stock on the local market, lost 0.86 percent to close at NT$173, while Largan Precision Co (大立光), a smartphone camera lens supplier to Apple Inc, shed 0.14 percent to end at NT$3,605.
The NT dollar fell NT$0.2 against the US dollar at one point during yesterday’s trading.
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