TW market 1124

14:41 24Nov2008 RTRS-Taiwan stocks fall on tech shares, but HTC jumps

* HTC up on expectations of double-digit growth next year
* Financials pare losses on China MOU proposal
* Powerchip extends rally

(Adds details, quote)
TAIPEI, Nov 24 (Reuters) - Taiwan stocks fell 0.25 percent on
Monday as technology shares declined ahead of data due out later
in the day that is expected to be gloomy, but HTC <2498.TW>
climbed after forecasting double-digit revenue growth next year.
The main TAIEX share index <.TWII> ended down 10.56 points at
4,160.54, recouping some earlier losses, as the government
stepped in to prop up the market and some investors searched for
bargains, analysts said.
Turnover was light at T$45.8 billion ($1.4 billion), lower
than Friday's T$51.8 billion.
Investors largely ignored a Wall Street rally as they took
cues from losses in other Asian stocks. There was also some
market caution due to expectations of poor October jobless rate
and export orders data that will be released later in the day.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) <2330.TW>
, the world's top contract chip maker, dropped 3.12
percent, dragging the electronics sub-index <.TELI> 1.02 percent
lower.
"Institutional investors were probably disappointed that the
government didn't lift a ban on short-selling," said Kevin Yang,
president of Paradigm Asset Management.
"Though there's no guarantee that the market will rise if the
ban's lifted, liquidity will become better and gains will be
stronger when the market rebounds," said Yang, adding he expected
the TAIEX to trade between 3,800-4,200 points this week.
The market had anticipated that the government might lift a
ban on short-selling this week, as trade volumes have been thin
due to tight liquidity. The government has not yet decided
whether to lift the ban owing to uncertainties in the global
economy.
However, the market pared some losses near the end of trading
as the government boosted sagging shares and investors scooped
beaten-down financial shares, said Michael On, a managing
director of Beyond Asset Management.
The financial sub-index <.TFNI> rose 0.11 percent, with
Chinatrust Financial <2891.TW>, Taiwan's top credit card issuer,
jumping by its daily 7 percent limit.
The rally came after Jeffrey Koo, ex-vice chairman of
Chinatrust, returned Taiwan from Japan on Monday to be questioned
by prosecutors in a corruption case involving former President
Chen Shui-bian.
A reported government plan to finalise a memorandum of
understanding (MOU) on opening up Taiwan's and China's financial
industries to each other also provided support to sagging
financial stocks.
Local media reported that the the government will submit its
version of the MOU to Chinese officials when they visit Beijing
this week.
Smartphone maker HTC Corp also bucked the downward trend to
rise 3.45 percent after the company predicted revenue would grow
by a double-digit percentage next year as feature-packed mobile
phones gained popularity. [ID:nTPU000880]
Powerchip <5346.TWO>, Taiwan's top DRAM chip maker, rallied
for a second session, finishing limit up after the DRAM maker
said on Friday it was seeking a closer partnership with Elpida
<6665.T>. [ID:nTP21508]

HOT STOCKS
-- Chang Hwa Bank <2801.TW> ended flat and Taishin Financial
<2887.TW> fell 4.33 percent.
Local media reported that the government planned to raise its
stake in Chang Hwa and asked Taishin to unload its 22.5 percent
stake in the lender.

-- China Steel <2002.TW>, Taiwan's biggest steelmaker, fell
1.75 percent after a local newspaper reported the firm would
perform its annual maintenance ahead of schedule due to weak
global demand.
--------------------TAIEX IN PERSPECTIVE--------------------
Move on day -0.25 percent
Close on day 4,160.54
2008 intraday high 9,309.95
2008 intraday low 3,955.43
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$33.4)
(Reporting by Gina Chang; Editing by Jonathan Hopfner)
(gina.chang@thomsonreuters.com; +886 2 2508-0815; Reuters
Messaging: gina.chang.reuters.com@reuters.net)
ASIA-PACIFIC STOCK MARKETS:
Pan-Asia......[STXNEWS/AS] Japan........[.T] S.Korea....[.KS]
S.E. Asia............[.SO] Hong Kong...[.HK] Taiwan.....[.TW]
Australia/NZ.........[.AX] India.......[.BO] China......[.SS]
OTHER MARKETS:
Wall Street...........[.N] Gold.........[GOL/] Currency..[FRX/]
Eurostocks...........[.EU] Oil...........[O/R] JP bonds...[JP/]
ADR