stock / dlr 32.950 / 1009 / -4.7

15:05 12Aug09 RTRS-Taiwan stocks end lower on banks, but AU jumps * Banks hit by fund-raising concerns # AU Optronics jumps as panel shortage seen intensifying * Acer up on better sales outlook (Updates indexes, quotes and details) TAIPEI, Aug 12 (Reuters) - Taiwan stocks closed down 0.15 percent on Wednesday as the rising death toll from Typhoon Morakot weighed on market sentiment and as financial shares including Cathay <2882.tw> tracked losses among their U.S. peers. The main TAIEX share index <.TWII> fell 10.12 points to 6,898.90, ending a three-day winning streak. Turnover was thin at T$103 billion ($3.1 billion), less than than Tuesday's T$107 billion. Cathay Financial, the island's top listed financial holding firm, dropped 0.52 percent, while the banking and insurance sub-index <.TFNI> fell 1.57 percent. "Fallout from the typhoon hit sentiment and a lack of new progress on the signing of a financial MOU with China weighed on financial shares," said Charles Shen, the president of Taishin Investment Trust Co. "But as long as technology shares continue to hold up, I don't expect to see a huge pullback in the near future." Shares of AU Optronics jumped 5.61 percent after an earthquake disrupted glass production in Japan, a move that analysts said could worsen the current LCD panel shortage. [ID:nSEO37071] AU's smaller rival Chi Mei Optoelectronics <3009.tw> also climbed, advancing 2.54 percent to a two-week closing high, roughly in line with the broader optoelectronics sub-index's <.TOPI> 2.18 percent gain. Other technology shares ending higher included the world's No. 3 PC maker Acer <2353.tw>, which gained 1.17 percent, after its chairman was quoted in a local newspaper as saying the fourth quarter would be better than the current one. Analysts said rises in PC shares could fuel the market's momentum in the second half of the year. "With Microsoft launching its Windows 7 system, I think notebook PC companies could be looking at a profitable fourth quarter," said Taishin's Shen. Financial shares <.TFNI> pressured the index, led by Cathay Financial, the parent of Taiwan's biggest insurer, due to a recent slew of fund-raising activity triggering doubts about the short-term health of financial holding companies, analysts and fund managers said. Cathay Financial said on Tuesday it planned to raise up to T$20 billion in a debt issue for future acquisitions. [ID:nTP355862] Shares of construction and steel companies ended lower, as investors locked in profits after their recent rally due on expected growing demand after a typhoon rattled the island. [ID:nSP522386] The construction sub-index <.TCOI> dropped 1.71 percent, while the steel and iron sub-index <.TSTI> fell 0.8 percent. China Life <2823.tw>, Taiwan's No.4 insurer, dropped 1.57 percent after it said it planned to form a joint venture with a Chinese company or buy a stake in an insurance firm on the mainland. [ID:nLB8105] ---------------------TAIEX IN PERSPECTIVE-------------------- Move on day -0.15 pct Close on day 6,898.90 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 Jonathan Hopfner) ((gina.chang@thomsonreuters.com; +886 2 2508-0815; Reuters Messaging: gina.chang.reuters.com@reuters.net)) ((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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