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14:09 24Feb09 RTRS-Taiwan stocks at over 2-wk closing low, techs fall * Asustek, Acer fall after Morgan Stanley cuts PC forecast * TSMC down despite positive comments * LCD shares rise on report of rush orders (Adds details and quote) TAIPEI, Feb 24 (Reuters) - Taiwan stocks fell 1.06 percent on Tuesday to a more than two-week closing low, as a Wall Street sell-off and gloomy PC market views by Morgan Stanley pressured computer shares such as Acer <2353.tw> and Asustek <2357.tw>. The main TAIEX share index <.TWII> closed down 47.60 points at 4,430.18, its lowest finish since Feb. 5. Turnover was light at T$56.5 billion ($1.6 billion), slightly lower than Monday's T$57 billion. "The market tracked Wall Street losses, but outperformed its Asian peers. It suggests that investors, though still conservative, have become less pessimistic than before," said Andrew Deng, a vice president of Taiwan International Securities. Deng expected the market to trade between 4,200-4,600 points this week. The computer and peripherals sub-index <.TCPI> declined 1.77 percent after Morgan Stanley lowered its PC unit and average-selling-price forecasts for 2009 and 2010, citing weaker-than-expected demand and cannibalisation from netbooks. [ID:nBNG290257] Shares of Asustek fell 2.65 percent, while shares of Acer, the world's No.3 PC vendor, ended down 1.1 percent. Both Asustek and Acer sell popular netbook laptops. "Although netbooks will more or less pressure the sales of their other products, it's not bad news overall," said Alex Huang, a vice president of Mega International Securities. "The netbook market is one of the few in which Taiwan's companies can play a leading role." Shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) <2330.tw> , the world's top chip maker, dropped 2.2 percent even after media cited the company's chairman as saying the semiconductor industry had neared its bottom. [nTP224728] The semiconductor sub-index <.TSII> and the electronics sub-index <.TELI> both finished down more than 1 percent. But LCD shares defied the weakness after a local newspaper said home electronics makers in China had approached top LCD makers AU Optronics <2409.tw> and Chi Mei <3009.tw> with rush orders as they face a shortage in display panels. Shares of AU and Chi Mei gained 0.79 percent and 0.88 percent, respectively. HOT STOCKS -- ProMOS Technologies Inc <5387.two>, Taiwan's No.3 DRAM maker, dropped by its 7 percent daily limit. The firm said on Monday it expects holders of its convertible bonds to accept its offer to buy them back for as little as 10 percent of their face value. [ID:nTP312528] -- Taiwan's ASE <2311.tw>, the world's top chip packager, slid 4 percent. The firm has signed a memorandum of understanding with Advanced Microelectronics Products Inc (AMPI) <6287.two> to form a strategic alliance to provide better services to clients. [ID:nTP324801] AMPI jumped by its 7 percent daily limit. --------------------TAIEX IN PERSPECTIVE-------------------- Move on day -1.06 percent Close on day 4,430.18 2009 intraday high 4,817.44 2009 intraday low 4,164.19 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$34.7) (Reporting by Gina Chang; Editing by Jonathan Hopfner) ((gina.chang@thomsonreuters.com; +886 2 2508-0815; Reuters Messaging:gina.chang.thomsonreuters.come@reuters.com)) ASIA-PACIFIC STOCK MARKETS: Pan-Asia......[STXNEWS/AS] Japan........[.T] S.Korea....[.KS] S.E.
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