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14:30 17Jun09 RTRS-Taiwan stocks fall to new 1-1/2-mth low as techs dip * Market falls for 4th session, down 10 pct so far in June * HTC leads technology shares lower * Financial shares advance on China hopes (Adds details and quotes) By Joan Hsu and Gina Chang TAIPEI, June 17 (Reuters) - Taiwan stocks fell 0.4 percent in thin trade on Wednesday, hitting a 1-1/2-month closing low as tech shares such as HTC Corp <2498.tw> tracked losses on Wall Street, but gains in financial shares helped limit the decline. The main TAIEX share index <.TWII> closed 24.90 points lower at 6,195.91, reversing early gains to mark its weakest finish since April 30. The market has fallen more than 3.9 percent so far this week and is down about 10 percent in June, making it the worst-performing stock index in the past one month among 30 global indexes tracked by Reuters. Turnover was thin at T$99 billion ($3 billion), lower than the T$109 billion recorded on Tuesday, as an increasing number of investors stayed sidelined on concerns that the market could pull back further following months of rallies. Shares of smartphone maker HTC, the day's most active share by turnover, dropped 4.6 percent, sending the electronics sub-index <.TELI> 1 percent lower. "HTC slid because of the dismal outlook for its sales in June," said Chang Chi-sheng, a fund manager at Uni-President Asset Management. Inventec Corp <2356.tw>, the world's No.4 contract maker of laptop PCs, gave up early gains to close 2.2 percent lower. The firm said on Tuesday it expects to ship more than 5 million laptops in the second quarter, up about 5 percent from the first quarter, amid recovering demand. [ID:nTP2995] Netbook pioneer Asustek <2357.tw> climbed 0.25 percent after saying on Tuesday it could turn to an operating profit in the current quarter after two straight quarters of losses. [ID:nTPU001422] Separately, a local newspaper said the netbook maker expects to sell up to 1 million of its smartphones next year, and has tied up with telecom operator AT&T to distribute its phones in the United States. The financial sub-index <.TFNI> bucked the trend on the broader market to rise 2.4 percent, reversing some of the 12 percent it has lost so far this month. Cathay Financial, Taiwan's biggest listed financial holding firm, gained 3 percent while Chinatrust Financial <2891.tw>, the island's largest credit card issuer, advanced 2.8 percent. Taiwan and China are expected to sign a much-awaited memorandum of understanding (MOU) on the financial sector around mid-year, which would help local banks enter China's market. "Positive news such as the (possible) signing of the MOU with China and being considered for a upgrade by MSCI boosted financial shares," said Chang. Index compiler MSCI has said it was studying upgrading Taiwan to developed from emerging market status. [ID:nN15244117] HOT STOCKS -- Computer casing maker Ju Teng <3336.hk> <9136.tw> rose 1.9 percent after a senior executive said the firm has no plan to issue new shares, but could repackage some of its existing Hong Kong-listed shares into TDRs to meet strong demand for its stock in Taiwan. [ID:nHKG260186] --------------------TAIEX IN PERSPECTIVE-------------------- Move on day -0.40 percent Close on day 6,195.91 2009 intraday high 7,084.83 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] ($1=T$32.9) (Editing by Lincoln Feast) ((gina.chang@thomsonreuters.com; +886 2 2508-0815; Reuters Messaging:gina.chang.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.com)) ((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
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