TW market 1113

14:18 13Nov2008 RTRS-Taiwan stocks fall to 2-week low; CPT limit down

* CPT limit down after guilty plea to price-fixing
* Techs down as U.S. retailers pull back on outlook
* Financials down after more than half report Oct losses

(Adds details, quotes, hot stocks)
TAIPEI, Nov 13 (Reuters) - Taiwan stocks fell 3.85 percent to
a two-week closing low on Thursday, hit by tech and financial
stocks on fears over a possible lengthy economic recession, with
Chunghwa Picture Tubes (CPT) falling by its daily limit.
LCD maker CPT <2475.TW> shares shed 7 percent after it
pleaded guilty to price-fixing conspiracies on LCD screens with
South Korea's LG Display <034220.KS> and Japan's Sharp Corp
<6753.T>.
All sub-indexes lost ground, pulling the main TAIEX share
index <.TWII> 177.74 points lower to close at 4,437.83. Turnover
was thin at T$49.25 billion ($1.48 billion).
"There're lots of people who don't think the recession is
going to end anytime soon," said Alex Huang, vice president at
Mega International Securities.
"A worsening economic climate will mean decreased consumer
spending. Put this together with the poor performance by U.S.
financials yesterday and you get the tech- and financial-heavy
TAIEX falling."
Warnings by U.S. retailers Best Buy and Macy's
coupled with chip giant Intel cutting its revenue
forecast further dampened the mood for Taiwan's tech shares,
pulling the electronics sub-index <.TELI> down 4.57 percent.
"CPT was already burning and this is the equivalent of
throwing another matchstick into the fire," said Sean Wu at
Nomura Securities.
"However, it doesn't seem like they will have much of an
issue with cashflow right now because they can pay the fine over
a five-year period."
Taiwan's tech industry produces much of the world's
electronics, including more than half of all laptop PCs. They
were already reeling from last week's weak export numbers and
slumping consumer demand from its major consumer markets.
Shares of electronics giant Hon Hai <2317.TW>, the day's most
active issue by turnover, were limit down as investors looked
warily at the prospect of weak sales in the key Christmas season.
The world's top contract chip maker TSMC <2330.TW>
also fell 6.68 percent.
A report by research firm Gartner that PC maker Acer
<2353.TW> has surpassed its rivals to become the top seller in
western Europe failed to lift sentiment, with the company's
shares closing flat. [ID:nTP157878]
Financial shares joined in the tech freefall, with the
banking and insurance sub-index <.TFNI> falling 5.6 percent after
the U.S. administration largely abandoned its plan to buy up bad
mortgage assets. [ID:nN12393760]
Selling was further exacarbated by local media reports that
more than half of all the island's banks reported a loss in
October.
Shares of leading financial holding companies Fubon Financial
<2881.TW>, Taishin Financial <2887.TW> and Chinatrust Financial
<2891.TW> all fell by the daily 7 percent limit.

--------------------TAIEX IN PERSPECTIVE--------------------
Move on day -3.85 percent
Close on day 4,437.83
2008 intraday high 9,309.95
2008 intraday low 4,110.09
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$33.2)
(Reporting by Kelvin Soh, Editing by Ken Wills)
((kelvin.soh@thomsonreuters.com; +886 2 2508-0815; Reuters
Messaging:kelvin.soh.reuters.com@reuters.net))
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