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14:55 21Aug09 -Taiwan stocks hit over 5-wk low, hurt by tech shares * Worries on China's tightened money policy trigger selling * Mediatek lead tech shares lower * TAIEX to trade between 6,700 and 6,800 points next week (Updates indexes, adds quotes and details) TAIPEI, Aug 21 (Reuters) - Taiwan stocks closed 1.16 percent lower on Friday, as worries about a volatile Chinese market offset Taiwan's upbeat GDP data, with Mediatek <2454.tw> leading technology shares lower. The main TAIEX share index <.TWII> was higher in early trade but reversed course to end 78.43 points lower at 6,654.80, its lowest close in more than five weeks, after a report about Chinese measures to tighten banks' capital rules triggered a sell-off. [ID:nSP529534][ID:nT252167] Mediatek, Taiwan's top chip designer and supplier and the market's most active stock by turnover, dropped 3.35 percent, pushing the electronics sub-index <.TELI> 1.17 percent lower. "The GDP was a short-term catalyst to the main index," said Kevin Chung, an analyst at Jih Sun Investment Consulting Co, who expected the TAIEX to consolidate for the next two weeks between 6,700 and 6,900. "Investors would continue to keep an eye on the volatile Chinese market, as China has become one of the most important indicators of the global economy." On an annualised basis, Taiwan's economy grew for the first time in over a year in the second quarter, and officials said they expected rising demand from China to support a strong recovery. [ID:nTP93790] Chung said investors are also waiting for economic data from larger economies such as the United States and China to help shape their impressions about the direction global markets will take. The TAIEX fell 5.87 percent this week, the worst weekly loss in one-and-a-half months, due to worries over a possible cabinet reshuffle and a sharp fall in Chinese stocks. Smartphone maker HTC <2498.tw> fell 0.60 percent after the company reportedly received cellphone orders from the world's largest mobile carrier, China Mobile <0941.hk>. China Airlines <2610.tw>, Taiwan's flagship carrier, fell 1.83 percent after the company told Reuters it could turn to profitability by the end of the year, helped by an increase in direct flights between Taiwan and China. [ID:nSP516875] Shares of Sinopac Financial <2890.tw>, a mid-sized financial holding firm in Taiwan, dropped 3.03 percent. The banking and insurance sub-index <.TFNI> fell 1.52 percent. Sinopac rose more than 1 percent earlier in the session after a newspaper reported the firm planned to raise T$50 billion ($1.5 billion) in preparation for acquisitions after Taiwan signs a financial services agreement with China. A positive outlook on the island's exports next year, largely due to an increase in demand from China, lifted some export-reliant technology shares such as Acer Inc <2353.tw>, the world's No. 3 PC brand. Acer shares rose 1.32 percent. ---------------------TAIEX IN PERSPECTIVE-------------------- Move on day -1.16 pct Close on day 6,654.80 2009 intraday high 7,142.63 2009 intraday low 4,164.19 All-time high 12,682.41 12 FEB 1990 -------------------------------------------------------------- ($1=T$32.9) For a table of foreign trading in Taiwan stocks, double-click on [ID:nTP170358] (Reporting by Joan Hsu; Editing by Ken Wills) ((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/
Friday, 21 August 2009 14:55:36RTRS [nTP249792 ] {C}ENDS