Taiwan shares finish lower on profit-taking

Taipei, June 4, 2003 (CENS)--Taiwan shares ended slightly lower yesterday as investors took profits on recent gains ahead of a mid-week holiday, analysts said. The local bourse will be closed today for the Dragon Boat Festival.

The market underwent a consolidation after the local bourse gained 5.4% over the past four sessions, said analysts.

The weighted price index of the Taiwan Stock Exchange fell 14.86 points, or 0.32%, to 4678.08 in dealings valued at NT$88.90 billion. Decliners outnumbered gainers 376 to 231, while 121 issues ended trading flat.

Investors locked in profits in technology shares after U.S. tech stocks gave up its early gains Monday, pushing down the electronics subindex by 0.2%.

Among actively traded issues, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing lost NT$0.50 to NT$56, AU Optronics fell NT$0.10 to NT$23, and ASE dropped NT$0.20 to NT$19.10.

However, United Microelectronics, the mostly traded issue, bucked the decline trend, managing to gain NT$0.40 to NT$23.70, as investors tried to close the gap on the premium between its American depositary receipts and its local share price.

Flat panel maker Chunghwa Picture Tubes rose NT$0.45 to NT$10.85.

The steel subindex was one of the few sectors to gain on the day, ending up 0.6%, as investors shifted funds from tech issues to look for cheaper stocks in the old-economy sector.

China Steel edged up NT$0.10 to NT$21.10, and Yieh Phui Enterprise advanced NT$0.30 to NT$24.10.

Of other sectors, plastics/chemical issues lost 1.3%, cement shares gave up 1%, construction stocks fell 0.7%, and the financial sector was off 0.4%.

The price index of the over-the-counter market ended 0.24 point higher to 91.03 in dealings valued at NT$9.09 billion.

June index futures on Taiwan's futures exchange closed down seven points to 4658 on turnover of 19,181 lots. June electronics futures were down 0.60 point to 197.80 on volume of 2,364 lots, while June financial futures shed 0.20 point to 695.80 on turnover of 2,588 lots.