TWN stock 0312

14:35 12Mar09 RTRS-Taiwan stocks off 2-mth high as financials weigh * Fubon Fin weighs on financial shares * UMC jumps after reportedly calling back staff * Chi Mei up after upbeat shipment outlook * Powerchip drops after possible tie-up talk with Elpida By Gina Chang (Adds details and quote) TAIPEI, March 12 (Reuters) - Taiwan stocks fell 0.11 percent on Thursday, as Fubon Financial <2881.tw> dragged financial shares lower after saying its insurance business recently acquired from ING saw its 2008 net profit plunge. The main TAIEX share index <.TWII> ended down 5.31 points at 4,754.65, retreating from a two-month closing high in the previous session. Some investors took quick profits from the market's 3 percent gain over the past two days. Turnover was light at T$84.2 billion ($2.4 billion) after reaching a seven-month high of T$111.9 billion on Wednesday. The financial sub-index <.TFNI> was the biggest loser, which ended down 1.85 percent. Shares of Fubon fell 3.85 percent after the firm said on Wednesday that ING Group's Taiwan insurance business, which it acquired, posted a 98 percent decline in 2008 profits but was not in need of capital-raising for its insurance operations. [ID:nTP2259] "On the positive side, the ING unit will help Fubon increase market share, but at the same time Fubon's insurance business will be pressured as the island's interest rates have fallen to a record low," said Andrew Deng, a vice president of Taiwan International Securities. Deutsche Bank and Goldman Sachs both cut their target prices on Fubon on Thursday. [nTP249992] However, tech shares helped cushion the day's fall, with the semiconductor sub-index <.TSII> up 0.13 percent and the electronics sub-index <.TELI> ending 0.33 percent higher. UMC <2303.tw> , the world's No.2 contract chip maker, jumped 3.89 percent after a local newspaper reported the firm would call back workers who had been put on unpaid leave at one of its factories from next month following a slew of rush orders from China. "Most investors are expecting the positive effect from rush orders to continue through April," said Deng. "But without clear visibility of demand, there are doubts that rush orders could keep coming through May or June. And that has kept institutional investors conservative during the market's recent gains," said Deng. Deng said the market's upward momentum would be limited if cautious institutional investors remain on the sidelines. Chi Mei Optoelectronics <3009.tw>, Taiwan's No. 2 LCD maker, rose 0.41 percent after a company executive said he expects Chi Mei's LCD panel shipments to rise 20 percent this year with help from Chinese government policy to boost rural consumer spending on electronics. [ID:nSHA248213] Taiwan's top DRAM maker Powerchip <5346.two> lost 5.11 percent after saying it is in talks with Japan's Elpida <6665.t> on a possible merger or other forms of tie-ups. [nTP163036] Netbook PC pioneer Asustek <2357.tw> fell 1.01 percent after one source said that the firm would undergo a major restructuring. [nTP70559] HOT STOCKS -- The transportation sub-index <.TTPI> rose 1.86 percent after a newspaper said direct flights between China and Taiwan had load factors of over 80 percent last week, and airlines plying the routes are pushing for additional flights. -- Far EasTone <4904.tw>, one of Taiwan's top three mobile carriers, fell 0.59 percent after the firm said the roll out of its WiMax wireless system is running nearly a year behind schedule. [ID:nTP327766] --------------------TAIEX IN PERSPECTIVE-------------------- Move on day -0.11 percent Close on day 4,754.65 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$34.5) ((Editing by Ken Wills; 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. 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 Report..........[ADR/] LME metals..[MET/L] US bonds...[US/] Stocks News US...[STXNEWS/US] Stocks News Europe...[STXNEWS/EU] DIARIES & DATA: IPO diary & data Asia earnings diary [ASIA/EQTY] U.S. earnings diary [RESF/US] European diary [WEU/EQTY] Taiwan diary [TW/DIARY] Wall Street Week Ahead [.N/O] Eurostocks Week Ahead [.EU/O] World forecasts TOP NEWS: For top Asian company news, double click on: [nTOPEQA] U.S. company news [TOP/EQU] European company news [TOP/EQE] Forex news [TOP/FRX] Global Economy news [TOP/MACRO] Technology news [TOP/TECH] Telecoms news [TOP/TELCO] Media news [TOP/MEDIA] Banking news [TOP/FIN] Politics/General news [TOP/G] Asia Macro data A multimedia version of Reuters Top News is available at: http://topnews.session.rservices.com LIVE PRICES & DATA: World Stocks <0#.index> Currency rates Dow Jones/NASDAQ <.DJI> <.IXIC> Nikkei <.N225> FTSE 100 <.FTSE> Debt <0#usbmk=> Taiwan dollar LME price overview TAIWAN MARKET: Taiwan equity mkt TAIEX <.TWII><.TV.TW> Other indices <0#.inx.tw> TAISDAQ <.TWOII><.TV.TWO> TAIMEX Taiwan index futures <0#tx:> MSCI Taiwan index <.MSTW> SIMEX Taiwan index futures <0#stw:> FTSE TW50 index <.FTSETW50> Keywords: MARKETS TAIWAN STOCKS
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