TW Stock 22 Oct

14:27 22Oct2008 RTRS-Taiwan stocks hit 5-year low, demand fears slam tech stocks

* Taiwan stocks close down on tech stocks
* HTC down after Apple reports strong numbers
* Shin Kong up on news of fresh cash

(Adds details and analyst's quotes)
TAIPEI, Oct 22 (Reuters) - Taiwan stocks closed 1.6 percent
lower on Wednesday at levels not seen since June 2003 as
investors dumped tech heavyweights such as Hon Hai ahead of
third-quarter earnings results next week.
The main TAIEX share index <.TWII> fell 80.13 to close at
4,862.59 points, dragged down by the broader electronics <.TELI>
and banking and insurance sub-indexes <.TFNI> which lost 1.89
percent and 1.74 percent, respectively.
Hon Hai <2317.TW>, Taiwan's top electronic parts maker and
the day's most active share by turnover, fell by its maximum
limit for a third consecutive day on fears of slowing consumer
demand heading into the crucial holiday shopping season.
The stock ended 3.5 percent lower.
"Hon Hai is one of Taiwan's better-known tech stocks. If we
look at it solely from this angle, it is obvious that it's
because some of the larger investors have become more
conservative on tech and when they pull out their money,
obviously the price will fall," said Vincent Chen, head of
downstream tech at Yuanta Securities.
Smartphone maker HTC Corp <2498.TW> also saw its shares go
limit-down, shedding 3.5 percent after a key competitor in the
smartphone business, Apple Inc , reported
stronger-than-expected quarterly results, stoking fears of
increased competition.
Shares of Powerchip Semiconductor Corp <5346.TWO>, Taiwan's
top DRAM chip maker, also went limit-down a day, losing 3.4
percent, after the company posted a record quarterly loss that
was worse than forecast. [ID:nTP360384]
The day's bright spot was Shin Kong Financial <2888.TW>,
which closed up 4.11 percent, paring gains after having gone
limit-up early in the trading session.
Investors had been buoyed by news that the company will raise
T$8 billion ($245 million) from Japan's Dai-ichi Life Insurance.
Other financial holding companies such as Cathay Financial
<2882.TW> and Fubon Financial <2881.TW>, riding on the back of
Shin Kong's good news, also rose in early trading but later fell
back into negative territory.
Chunghwa Telecom <2412.TW>, Taiwan's largest
telecommunications provider, also bucked the trend to rise 3.02
percent as investors bought back into the company after having
seen the price fall to a one-year low on Monday.
Top PC makers Acer <2353.TW> and Asustek <2357.TW> both gave
up early gains to close 3.47 percent and 0.95 percent lower
respectively despite Intel's assertion that the consumer notebook
PC market will be in good shape next year. [ID:nTP342239]
Turnover was soft at T$47.04 billion ($1.44 billion) as
investors stayed away from the volatile market, but was
consistent with other October down days.
--------------------TAIEX IN PERSPECTIVE--------------------
Move on day -1.62 percent
Close on day 4,862.59
2008 intraday high 9,309.95
2008 intraday low 4,805.68
All time high 12,682.41 12 FEB 1990
------------------------------------------------------------
For a table of foreign trading in Taiwan stocks, double-click
on ID:nTP170358
(US$1=T$32.9)
(Reporting by Kelvin Soh, Editing by Kim Coghill)
(Editing by Kim Coghill)
((kelvin.soh@thomsonreuters.com; +886 2 2508-0815; Reuters
Messaging:kelvin.soh.reuters.com@reuters.net))
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Wednesday, 22 October 2008 14:27:24RTRS [nS22113324] {EN}ENDS