Taiwan stocks closed flat on Friday, as investors took profits from financials, offsetting gains in traditional sectors like textiles. Fund managers said the market has also started to factor in expected slower growth in the local economy in the first quarter, and saw a weaker share performance before the long holidays for Lunar New Year in February.
"GDP this quarter will be lower coming from a high base. The stock market has yet to take this into account," said Michael On, a managing director of Beyond Asset Management. The TAIEX index ended down 0.03 percent, or 3.07 points, at 8,972.51, after opening up 0.11 percent. The textile sub-index led gainers, rising 1.06 percent.
But Financial shares fell 0.16 percent, as investors took profits after the sub-index gained over 5 percent in the week. Electronics shares were flat, as was the semiconductor index, with concerns over demand ahead outweighing a strong outlook by chip giant Intel.
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