Taiwan stocks ended down 0.96 percent on Friday, dragged by recent transportation and cement gainers, but TPK Holding Co Ltd led other Apple Inc -related counters higher. Touch panel maker TPK advanced 4.3 percent on news it had priced its $400 million European convertible bond issue at a 32 percent premium, the highest among Taiwan companies since 2004, reflecting investor optimism about prospects for Apple's popular iPads and iPhones.
The broader market dropped 84.61 points to 8,718.12, with shipping and cement issues leading losses. Further downward pressure is expected into the rest of April as major companies like the world's top two contract chipmakers TSMC and UMC release their Q1 earnings, said Richard Wu, a senior vice president at Shin Kong Financial' s fund unit.
Construction shares edged up 0.11 percent. Taiwan's parliament formally approved on Friday a special tax on real estate investments and luxury goods, part of government efforts to curb soaring prices. Compal Electronics slipped 1.2 percent. Compal said it sees orders coming in for May and June following the nuclear crisis in Japan.
Comments
Comments are closed for this article.