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14:32 23Sep09 RTRS-Taiwan stocks fall before c.bank meeting; banks fall * Financials lose steam after a sharp climb on hopes of MOU * Smaller LCD panel makers outperform * Investors cautious ahead of c.bank board meeting * Main index seen range-bound near 7,400 points (Updates indexes, quotes, hot stocks) TAIPEI, Sept 23 (Reuters) - Taiwan stocks fell 1.24 percent to a one-week closing low on Wednesday, as investors stayed cautious ahead of the central bank's board meeting later this week, with financial shares leading losses after a recent rally. The main TAIEX share index <.TWII> ended 92.27 points lower at 7,376.76, the weakest close since Sept 15 and the biggest single day percentage fall in a week. Turnover was moderate at T$128 billion ($3.95 billion), slightly more active than Tuesday's T$112 billion. Taiwan's central bank will hold a rate-setting meeting on Thursday and is widely expected to keep its benchmark discount rate at a record low of 1.25 percent. [ID:nTP171816] "Investors generally hold an optimistic view about the economy, but a rising jobless rate tells a different story," said Kevin Chung, an analyst at Jih Sun Investment Consulting Co. "So they rely on the Federal Reserve and the local central bank to provide a better view on the current global economy." Chung said the market is likely to trade in a tight range until the end of September. Taiwan's seasonally adjusted jobless rate rose to a record of 6.07 percent in August from 6.01 percent in July. [ID;nTPU0016920] The market's decline was broad-based but financial shares were the most negative influence on the main index. Cathay Financial <2882.tw>, the island's top listed financial holding firm, slipped 2.23 percent, with the banking and insurance sub-index <.TFNI> down 2.18 percent. The financial sector had climbed more than 15 percent in the past month, as foreign and local investors aggressively bought financial shares on hopes of a much anticipated financial agreement with China. Taiwan and China have agreed to open their financial markets to each other, with a memorandum of understanding (MOU) expected to be signed this year. However, smaller LCD panel makers such as Hannstar Display <6116.tw> and Innoclus Display <3481.tw> outperformed, rising 0.41 percent and 1.46 percent, respectively. "While profits of large, flat panel makers might seen to have hit a ceiling, small to mid-size LCD makers are beginning to see growth in demand," said Chung. Hannstar Display was the session's most traded stock by volume, with its daily volume doubling from the average in the past five days. Samsung Electronics <005930.ks>, the world's biggest maker of memory chips, offered a cautious outlook for the semiconductor sector even as the industry is coming out of its two-year slump. [ID:nTP253351] Taiwan's top contract chip makers TSMC <2330.tw> and UMC <2303.tw> dropped 0.32 percent and 1.91 percent, respectively. HOT STOCKS -- Taiwan's Far Eastone <4904.tw> crept 0.54 percent higher after a newspaper reported it held talks with private equity firm MBK about acquiring its ownership in a Taiwan cable TV operator, China Network Systems (CNS). [ID:nTP313495] -- Taiwan High Speed Rail Corp <2633.two> fell 3.12 percent after it picked a government-backed chairman on Tuesday. [ID:nTP241017] ---------------------TAIEX IN PERSPECTIVE------------------ Move on day -1.24 pct Close on day 7,376.76 2009 intraday high 7,558.88 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 Ken Wills) ((If you have a query or comment on this story, send an email to news.feedback.asia@thomsonreuters.com)) ASIA-PACIFIC
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