Taiwan shares close down 0.17%

Taipei--Shares in Taiwan closed lower Monday as investors grew cautious, affected by rising geopolitical tensions over North Korea as well as slides in large-cap stocks.

The weighted index on the Taiwan Stock Exchange closed down 16.53 points, or 0.17 percent, at 9,716.40, after moving between 9,670.11 and 9,762.47. Turnover totaled NT$77.60 billion (US$2.56 billion) during the session.

Most sectors lost ground on Monday, with electronics shares dropping 0.16 percent and financial shares falling 0.33 percent.

Contract chip maker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC,???) fell 0.79 percent to close at NT$187.50, while smartphone camera lens supplier Largan Precision Co. (???) closed down 0.42 percent to close at NT$4,780, despite a foreign brokerage setting a target price of NT$6,180 for the stock.

Hon Hai Precision Industry Co. (??) bucked the trend, gaining 0.62 percent to close at NT$97.30.

In the financial sector, Fubon Financial Holdings (???) edged down 0.11 percent to NT$47.25, while Cathay Financial Holdings (???) closed down 0.53 percent also to NT$47.25.

Analysts said investors stayed on the sideline due to tensions over North Korea and the fact that Taiwan remained on the U.S. currency monitoring list after Washington released its latest twice-a-year foreign exchange policy report on Friday.

The market will likely trend lower in the future, but shares should trade within a narrow range as long as there is no major plunge in global stock markets, they said.

Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel