Taiwan stocks posted their worst quarterly performance since the second quarter last year, with the main TAIEX share index falling 3.22 percent in the three months to Thursday. Looking into the second quarter, fund managers said Taiwan might underperform global markets because about 60 percent of the benchmark index was made up of technology companies, which are under pressure from potential disruptions to component supply after Japan's earthquake disaster.
"The bounce of Taiwan stocks since the earthquake was much smaller than other markets like South Korea and the US," said Hua Nan Securities Chairman David Chu. It had risen in the last two quarters and gained 9.6 percent for 2010 as a whole.
The optoelectronics sub-index was among the top gainers on Thursday, up 1.61 percent, with AU Optronics Corp rising 4.9 percent after a newspaper reported it had won an order to provide flat panel screens for Apple Inc's iPad 2 tablet. Financial shares climbed 0.47 percent ahead of an expected interest rate increase at the central bank's policy meeting later in the day.
Hon Hai Precision Industry Co Ltd dropped 1.44 percent after its Foxconn International Holdings Ltd unit in Hong Kong reported a wider-than-expected net loss for 2010. Foreign investors were net buyers for the fifth consecutive session on Wednesday, picking up T$5.475 billion ($185.6 million).
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