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14:20 05Jun09 RTRS-Taiwan stocks at 2-wk closing low; Mediatek rises * Market falls for fourth session to two-week low * Property shares down after sharp gains in May * Mediatek gains after better-than-expected May sales * LED shares rally on China hopes (Adds details and quotes) TAIPEI, June 5 (Reuters) - Taiwan stocks edged down 0.28 percent on Friday to a two-week closing low as property shares led the decline following a recent rally, but Mediatek <2454.tw> outperformed after releasig stronger-than-expected May sales. The main TAIEX <.TWII> share index opened higher after gains on Wall Street, but had been swinging in and out of positive territory throughout the session. The TAIEX eventually finished 18.96 points lower at 6,767.10, its weakest finish since May 26. The market was down 2 percent on the week. Turnover was moderate at T$121.8 billion ($3.7 billion), lower than T$160 billion in Thursday's session. The construction sub-index <.TCOI>, which jumped 61 percent in May, declined 1.86 percent. Real Estate developer Farglory <5522.tw>, lost 3.9 percent. "Selling pressure was still heavy and the market will need more time to digest its recent sharp gains," said Beyond Asset Management managing director Michael On. On expected the market to trade in a narrow range between 6,400 and 6,800 points through to the end of June. The TAIEX, which jumped 15 percent in May and has gained 47 percent so far this year, has been pulling back after breaching the psychologically important 7,000-point level to nine-month closing highs earlier this week. The transportation sub-index <.TTPI> ended down 0.75 percent after the Baltic Dry Index (BDI) <.BADI>, which tracks the costs of shipping key commodities, pulled back sharply on Thursday from its highest level in more than eight months. In the technology sector, Mediatek <2454.tw>, the island's top chip designer and the day's second-most active share by turnover, rose 1.5 percent, outpacing a 0.02 percent gain in the electronics sub-index <.TELI>. Mediatek posted a 33.5 percent rise in May sales from a year earlier, but investors were cautiously awaiting more sales figures from other major technology companies through June 10. [ID:nTP373722] LED-related shares rallied after local media reported that a Chinese LED purchasing group would arrive in Taiwan on Monday. Shares of LED chip suppliers Epistar <2448.tw> and Formosa Epitaxy <3061.tw> jumped 3.8 percent and 7 percent, respectively. --------------------TAIEX IN PERSPECTIVE-------------------- Move on day -0.28 percent Close on day 6,767.10 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] (US$1=T$32.6) ((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/]
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