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(AFX UK Focus)
2009-11-11 03:08
Taiwan stocks edge lower as banks weigh, TSMC gains |
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TAIPEI, Nov 11 (Reuters) - Taiwan stocks edged 0.31 percent lower on Wednesday amid slow trade, paring recent gains, while chipmaker TSMC climbed after it settled a lawsuit with rival SMIC. The main TAIEX share index fell 23.48 points to 7,570.01, pulling back from a two-week intraday high hit in the previous session. Investors shrugged off a central bank announcement that it would impose capital controls on Tuesday, aiming to deter bets on currency appreciation deemed harmful to exporters. The central bank, which announced in October that foreigners had parked about T$500 billion ($15.5 billion) in Taiwan dollar deposit accounts, said it wanted investors betting on Taiwan's economy to put their money in stocks. "Foreign investors are unlikely to raise their holdings in Taiwan stocks now on stretched valuations," said Alex Huang, research director at Mega International Securities Co. "We didn't see inflows back in October when the central bank first voiced concerns and it's unlikely that we'll see it now." The banking and insurance sub-index was one of the session's top losers, falling 0.93 percent, on worries over a further delay in the signing of a financial pact with China. A local media report said Taiwan's premier wanted regulators to explain the details of the much-anticipated pact with China to legislators before they signed it, sparking concerns there would be a delay in signing the deal. TSMC, the world's largest contract chip maker, offered much support to the main index and was the session's most-active stock by turnover. TSMC jumped 1.32 percent after SMIC, China's largest contract chipmaker, said on Tuesday that it would pay $200 million and give the right to purchase up to 10 percent of the company to TSMC to settle lawsuits between the two. "This deal could drastically boost TSMC's presence in China, as SMIC is the largest chipmaker in China and owns 12 plants," added Huang. Netbook pioneer Asustek edged up 0.16 percent after it signed a $350 million supply agreement with China's Suning Appliance Co.
Dynamic random access memory (DRAM) chipmaker Winbond
Electronics Corp advanced 1.02 percent on an
outsourcing agreement with Japanese DRAM chip maker Elpida Memory .
((Reporting by Joan Hsu; Editing by Chris Lewis))
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