stock / 32.395/ 748/ -4.9

14:22 24Sep09 RTRS-Taiwan stocks fall for 4th session, TSMC weighs * TSMC leads technology shares lower * Investors stay cautious ahead of c.bank rate decision * Construction shares up on hopes of increased investments * Catcher falls after report of Goldman Sachs downgrade (Updates quotes, indexes) TAIPEI, Sept 24 (Reuters) - Taiwan stocks fell 0.71 percent on Thursday to their lowest close in more than a week, with technology heavyweight TSMC <2330.tw> leading losses as an overnight fall on Wall Street triggered a bout of profit-taking. The main TAIEX share index <.TWII> fell for the fourth straight session, closing down 52.54 points at 7,324.22, the lowest close since Sept 14. "Investors were expecting a pull-back and have been keen to cash in their gains in technology and financial shares, and a slide on Wall Street sped up the process," said Eddy Chen, a vice president at the National Investment Trust Co Ltd. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co Ltd (TSMC) , the session's most active share by turnover, fell 2.41 percent, even after Merrill Lynch raised its target price and earnings forecasts on TSMC on hopes of steady growth in demand and low inventory. [ID:nTP64430] Its smaller rival UMC <2303.tw>, also the second most actively traded stock by volume, fell 1.62 percent, sending the semiconductor sub-index <.TSII> 1.22 percent lower. Smartphone maker HTC <2498.tw> fell 0.69 percent. The electronics sub-index <.TELI> was down 0.67 percent. Turnover was light at T$90 billion ($2.8 billion), the lowest in nearly one month, as investors stayed cautious ahead of the central bank's rate-setting meeting later in the day. Taiwan's central bank is expected to keep its benchmark discount rate at a record low of 1.25 percent. [ID:nTP171816] "We don't expect a surprise in the central bank's interest rate decision, but investors will sieve through its comments for further direction on monetary policy," said Chen. Financial shares <.TFNI> fell 0.99 percent, with Chinatrust Financial <2891.tw>, Taiwan's biggest credit card issuer, falling 1.88 percent. But construction shares <.TCOI> recovered from a two-day loss, rising 0.39 percent as investors bought property shares on the expectation that a low interest rate could boost home sales. Construction company Chong Hong <5534.tw> jumped 3.23 percent. HOT STOCKS -- Catcher Technology Co <2474.tw>, a manufacturer of laptop casings, slipped 3.33 percent after a newspaper reported that Goldman Sachs has lowered its rating on Catcher to "neutral" from "buy" on concerns that its shares have become overvalued. -- Far EasTone <4904.tw>, Taiwan's third-largest telecommunications operator, edged 0.53 percent lower after it said it was interested in expanding into the cable TV business. [ID:nTP109155] ---------------------TAIEX IN PERSPECTIVE------------------ Move on day -0.71 pct Close on day 7,324.22 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 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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