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14:13 18Aug09 RTRS-Taiwan stocks hit 1-mth closing low, led by UMC * Global economy fears and political worries hurt sentiment * TAIEX could pull back to 6,600 this week * Catcher falls after weak first-half reports * Hon Hai gains after Merrill Lynch upgrade (Updates indexes, adds quotes) TAIPEI, Aug 18 (Reuters) - Taiwan stocks fell 2.05 percent to a one-month closing low on Tuesday as worries over the global economy and a possible local cabinet reshuffle dented investor sentiment and pushed down tech shares such as UMC <2303.tw>. Taiwan's main TAIEX share index <.TWII> finished 142.03 points lower at 6,789.77, logging its worst single-day percentage fall in more than five weeks. Turnover was light at T$107 billion ($3.24 billion). United Microelectronics Corp (UMC) , the world's second-largest contract chip maker, fell 4.74 percent, adding to a 1.94 percent fall in the electronics sub-index <.TELI>. "Taiwan shares have been catching up with the falls on Wall Street and China stocks," said Kevin Chung, an analyst at Jih Sun Investment Consulting Co. "The main index could take this opportunity to pull back as much as 300 to 400 points to 6,600." Analysts said political worries could add more selling pressure on the TAIEX that has gained nearly 50 percent since the beginning of this year after hitting a trough in January amid the global financial crisis. A local newspaper reported that Taiwan's lawmakers have called for a cabinet reshuffle, political fallout for Taiwan President Ma Ying-jeou's administration, which has come under criticism for its relief efforts after Typhoon Morakot slammed into the island and killed more than 100 people. Analysts said the exchange's turnover reflected investors' doubts about the strength of the global economic recovery, despite data pointing to improved economic fundamentals. "Investors would like to get clearer guidance from more data and first-half corporate reports later this week," added Chung. Shares of Catcher Technology Co <2474.tw>, a manufacturer of laptop castings, dropped 3.85 percent after the company reported weak first-half earnings. However, Goldman Sachs expected the company to show improvement in sales in the third quarter due to increasing usage of its light metal casings. Shares of Chunghwa Picture Tubes Ltd (CPT) <2475.tw>, Taiwan's No.3 flat panel maker, fell 2.49 percent after a newspaper said the company forecast lower shipment growth due to a shortage in glass. Shares of Advanced Semiconductor Engineering <2311.tw> fell 1.52 percent as a water shortage in southern Taiwan caused by the typhoon affected manufacturing processes, a local newspaper said. Electronics parts giant Hon Hai <2317.tw> rose 0.48 percent. Merrill Lynch raised its target share price and upgraded its investment rating to "buy" from "neutral". Also bucking the trend, Wintek <2384.tw>, which supplies panels for mobile phones and digital cameras, gained 2.09 percent on a report that the company should expect earnings to improve in the third quarter due to growing demand in key markets such as China. ---------------------TAIEX IN PERSPECTIVE-------------------- Move on day -2.05 pct Close on day 6,789.77 2009 intraday high 7,142.63 2009 intraday low 4,164.19 All-time high 12,682.41 12 FEB 1990 -------------------------------------------------------------- ($1=T$33) 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
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