Taiwan stocks down

Taiwan stocks fell 0.31 percent on Tuesday as investors took profits on a recent rally in tourism and banking shares, including top financial firm Cathay Financial. "Taiwan's main index and financial stocks have gained a lot in the past few weeks. What we're seeing today is only a correction," said John Chiu, a vice president of Fuh Hwa Securities Investment Trust.
"Funds are flowing into the laggards, the traditional sectors," he said. "In the near term financial shares will remain stable." The main TAIEX share index shed 28.11 points to 8,997.19, retreating from a two-and-half-a-year closing high in the prior session. Financials sank 2.7 percent, dragged down by a 2.3 percent slide of Cathay Financial, the island's top financial holding firm. Tourism shares were off 2.4 percent. But automobile shares were a bright spot, rising 1.5 percent, and glass and ceramics rose 1.22 percent.