Taiwan shares edge lower

Shares in Taiwan edged lower on Friday in consolidation mode, dealers said.

The weighted index on the Taiwan Stock Exchange closed down 33.57 points, or 0.36 percent, at 9,326.78, after moving between 9,379.75 and 9,326.78. Turnover totaled NT$77.37 billion (US$2.42 billion) during the session.

The bellwether electronics sector closed down 0.59 percent, while the financial sector fell 0.03 percent.

Most large-cap stocks in the electronics sector were lackluster except for Largan Precision Co. (???), which rose 1.49 percent to end the day at NT$3,750.

Shares in Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (???) fell 1.07 percent to finish at NT$185; Hon Hai Precision Industry Co. (??) dropped 0.71 percent to close at NT$83.6 and Advanced Semiconductor Engineering Inc. (???) ended down 1.18 percent at NT$33.5.

In the financial sector, shares in Mega Financial Holding Co. (???) rose 1.5 percent to finish at NT$23.75; Cathay Financial Holding Co. (???) gained 0.4 percent to close at NT$50; CTBC Financial Holding Co. (???) ended flat at NT$18 and Fubon Financial Holding Co. (???) closed down 0.19 percent at NT$52.9.

In the old-economy sector, plastics and paper stocks rose 0.88 percent and 0.01 percent respectively, while cement, rubber, glass, steel and car stocks were down 1.23 percent, 1.19 percent, 1.17 percent, 0.82 percent and 0.53 percent, respectively.

Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel