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14:29 03Aug09 RTRS-Taiwan stocks end 0.3 pct lower, HTC plummets * HTC plunges after cutting sales forecast this year * Cathay up; report on due diligence on AIG's Taiwan insurer * Market eyes economic data in Taiwan and the United States * The main index seen in 6,900-7,200 range this week (Updates indexes, adds quotes, details) TAIPEI, Aug 3 (Reuters) - Taiwan stocks ended 0.3 percent lower on Monday, as smartphone maker HTC <2498.tw> led technology shares down after it slashed its revenue forecast for this year. The main TAIEX share index <.TWII> dropped 21 points to 7,056.71, after posting its sixth straight weekly gain in the previous week. Turnover was moderate at T$129 billion (3.9 billion) compared with Friday's T$158 billion, as investors were cautious ahead of economic data in the United States and Taiwan. Shares of HTC, the world's No.4 smartphone maker, plunged by its daily 7 percent maximum limit, pushing the broader electronics sub-index <.TELI> down 1.15 percent. The company drastically lowered its 2009 revenue forecast on Friday on a delay in the launch of new products and a faster-than-expected fall in unit shipments. [ID:nTP127931] "Two reasons were seen driving the main index down, one was HTC, the other was investors' profit-taking," said Michael On, managing director at Beyond Asset Management. "Investors were seen locking in profits in technology shares as most solid corporate earnings have been reflected in the recent rally." The technology sub-index has risen nearly 9.6 percent in the past month, outperforming the 7 percent rise in the main index. "We are expecting a fall in turnover this week as investors stay sidelined ahead of important economic data at home and in the United States," added On, who expects the main index to stage a pull-back and trade between 6,900 and 7,200 this week. The July jobless rate in the United States will be released on Friday, while Taiwan will announce July consumer price index and July forex reserves data on Wednesday. A Reuters poll showed that Taiwan's consumer prices in July is likely to fall 2.3 percent from a year earlier, the steepest decline in almost 40 years due to low food prices and sluggish domestic consumption. [ID:nTP150635] Analysts said Taiwan's consumer price index will log more falls later this year, but expected the falls to start narrowing due to an improvement in consumption as the economy recovers. While tech shares weakened, Beyond Asset's On said some investors were putting their money into blue chip stocks, such as financial and property shares. The banking and insurance sub-index <.TFNI> rose 0.82 percent, while Cathay Financial <2882.tw>, Taiwan's top listed financial holding firm, rose 2.58 percent. A local newspaper reported on Monday Cathay Financial sent 70 senior executives to AIG's Taiwan life insurance unit, Nan Shan Life, to perform due diligence last week, as part of a process to buy Nan Shan. Shares of AU Optronics <2409.tw> rose 1.1 percent after a local newspaper reported that AU will build a new module factory in northern China to help one of its subsidiaries to win more orders from Chinese electronics brands such as Haier <1169.hk>. --------------------TAIEX IN PERSPECTIVE-------------------- Move on day -0.3 percent Close on day 7,056.71 2009 intraday high 7,142.63 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] (Reporting by Joan Hsu, Editing by Jacqueline Wong) ((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/
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