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14:55 13Nov09 RTRS-Taiwan stocks end flat, LCDs offset falling banks * Banks lose steam after recent gains * LCD makers rally on stronger sales outlook next year * Chi Mei rises after reports of tie-ups with Hon Hai, AU (Updates indexes, adds quotes and details) TAIPEI, Nov 13 (Reuters) - Taiwan stocks slid 0.07 percent on Friday, snapping a five-session winning streak, as investors sold financial shares after recent gains, but LCD makers such as Chi Mei <3009.tw> curbed losses on prospects of improving demand. The main TAIEX share index <.TWII> edged down 5.3 points to end at 7,665.63, but finished the week 2.7 percent higher. Turnover was thin at T$91 billion ($2.8 billion), compared with T$112 billion on Thursday. Profit taking and a lack of fresh momentum for an expected financial agreement with China sparked selling in banking stocks such as Cathay Financial <2882.tw>, which ended 1.16 percent lower. Taiwan's top finance regulators reiterated in local newspaper reports on Friday that Taiwanese banks would not be immediately open to Chinese investments even after a financial memorandum of understanding (MOU) is signed by the two sides. "Sentiment cooled off following overnight losses on Wall Street and lack of progress on the financial MOU with China, but the thin trade prevented the main index from a bigger fall," said Vincent Ho, a fund manager at JP Morgan Asset Management. Some tech exporters slid on worries over slower consumer spending in the United States after retail giant Wal-Mart forecast earnings that could miss Wall Street's consensus estimates. Netbook pioneer Asustek <2357.tw> closed down 1.08 percent. But LCD stocks gained on stronger sales outlooks for 2010. AU Optronics <2409.tw>, the world's No.3 flat panel maker, jumped 1.77 percent, sending the optoelectronic sub-index <.TOPI> 1 percent higher. Chi Mei Optoelectronics extended its rally from the previous session, finishing up 4.44 percent. Chi Mei's gains were helped by media reports that AU and electronics parts giant Hon Hai <2317.tw> have approached it about a possible merger, analysts said. "Consensus for the LCD and the entire technology sector was much too pessimistic given lower inventory and positive October sales," said JP Morgan's Ho, referring to previous losses in the LCD shares. Research firm DisplaySearch said the global LCD market was likely to face a supply shortage from the second quarter of 2010 as demand picks up after the current seasonal weakness. [ID:nTP92187] In a report, HSBC <0005.hk> raised its forecasts for LCD TV shipments in 2010 on growing demand in markets such as China, Japan and the U.S. ---------------------TAIEX IN PERSPECTIVE-------------- Move on day -0.07 pct Close on day 7,665.63 2009 intraday high 7,811.92 2009 intraday low 4,164.19 All-time high 12,682.41 12 FEB 1990 ---------------------------------------------------------- ((Reporting by Joan Hsu; Editing by Jonathan Hopfner)) ((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
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