Taipei: Shares in Taiwan ended lower on Tuesday as the benchmark index on the local main board briefly breached the 28,000-point mark. Many investors were observed to be cautious ahead of the anticipated meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping later this week.
According to Focus Taiwan, the Taiex, the weighted index on the Taiwan Stock Exchange (TWSE), fell 44.52 points, or 0.16 percent, to close at 27,949.11. The index fluctuated between 27,885.62 and 28,087.93 with a turnover totaling NT$533.03 billion (US$17.41 billion). Mega International Investment Services analyst Alex Huang noted that the market had already priced in optimism regarding the U.S.-China trade talks, leading to investors locking in their gains as they awaited the outcome of the Trump-Xi meeting.
Profit-taking was evident, although the electronics sector remained steady with expectations that the U.S. Federal Reserve might announce another interest rate cut later this week due to lower-than-expected inflation data in September. Despite this, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) saw a slight decline of 0.47 percent, closing at NT$1,075.00. Conversely, Hon Hai Precision Industry Co. rose 1.42 percent to NT$250.00.
Smartphone IC designer MediaTek Inc. experienced a 1.50 percent drop, while memory chip supplier Nanya Technology Corp. surged 8.33 percent. Winbond Electronics Inc. also gained, closing 6.09 percent higher. Meanwhile, United Microelectronics Corp. saw an increase of 0.88 percent.
In the non-tech sector, traditional stocks were less favored by investors, with Formosa Plastics Corp., Nan Ya Plastics Corp., Shihlin Paper Corp., and YFY Inc. seeing declines. Shihlin Electric and Engineering Corp. also fell, whereas Teco Electric and Machinery Co. went against the trend, gaining 0.89 percent due to its AI partnership with Hon Hai.
The financial sector finished 1.16 percent lower, with Cathay Financial Holding Co. and Fubon Financial Holding Co. both ending the day with losses. Huang mentioned that the Taiex faces technical challenges and requires time to overcome the pressure before it can close above the 28,000-point level.
According to the TWSE, foreign institutional investors were net sellers, offloading NT$27.11 billion worth of shares on the main board on Tuesday.