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14:15 25May09 RTRS-Taiwan stocks end flat but niche techs outperform * Big tech names weaken after recent gains * Niche tech firms gain on demand for new products * Strong Taiwan dollar boosts asset plays * Ju Teng limit-up on Taiwan debut (Adds details) TAIPEI, May 25 (Reuters) - Taiwan stocks closed flat on Monday after hitting a nine-month high, hurt by big tech names such as Hon Hai <2317.tw> while investors poured money into smaller firms making niche components for new tech gadgets. Taiwan's main TAIEX share index <.TWII> rose more than 2 percent in early trade but lost momentum gradually to end down 0.04 percent at 6,734.46. The day's fall followed a 3.8 percent rise last week. Turnover was active at T$190.7 billion ($5.8 billion), higher than T$187 billion in the previous session. "There is consensus that the worst is over and people have confidence in the tech sector now, but we still have to see if the recovery is strong," said Andrew Deng, assistant vice president at Taiwan International Securities. Mediatek Inc <2454.tw>, which designs and supplies chips for mobile phones and TVs, fell 3.7 percent and smartphone maker HTC Corp <2498.tw> lost 2.6 percent. Top contract chipmaker TSMC <2330.tw> fell 0.9 percent and electronics parts maker Hon Hai slid 2.2 percent, pulling the electronics sub-index <.TELI> 1 percent lower. However, small-cap companies making niche products were the most active shares on hopes that a new crop of computers and consumer gadgets would trigger fresh demand. LED chip supplier Epistar <2448.tw> rose 6.7 percent to their daily limit, and touch screen maker Wintek <2384.tw> gained 5.5 percent. "Buying in these smaller companies won't be enough to push the market further higher. I am very cautious now," said Alex Huang, vice president at Mega International Securities. Taiwan Fertilizer <1722.tw> and China Petrochem <1314.tw>, which have large land assets, jumped 2.4 percent and 6.8 percent, respectively, following a stronger local dollar that should boost the value of their holdings at home. Shares of laptop casing maker Ju Teng <9136.tw> jumped 6.9 percent to their daily limit on its trading debut in Taiwan. Deng said the TAIEX was facing heavy selling pressure after its recent rally, but it could find support at around 6,700 points in the near term. --------------------TAIEX IN PERSPECTIVE-------------------- Move on day -0.04 percent Close on day 6,734.46 2009 intraday high 6,878.66 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$32.6) (Reporting by Baker Li, Editing by Ken Wills) ((baker.li@thomsonreuters.com; +886 2 2508-0815; Reuters messaging: baker.li.reuters.com@reuters.net)) ((If you have a query or comment on this story, send an email to news.feedback.asia@thomsonreuters.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
For Related News, Double Click on one of these codes:[E] [Z] [MF] [PSC] [RNP] [DNP] [PTD] [PMF] [TW] [ASIA] [STX] [EMRG] [LEN] [RTRS] [.TW] [.TWII] [.MSTW] For Relevant Price Information, Double Click on one of these codes:<.TWII> <.MSTW> Monday, 25 May 2009 14:15:07RTRS [nTP169489] {EN}ENDS