Taiwan stocks finished down 1.41 percent on Monday at their lowest close since April 14, pressured by smartphone maker HTC Corp, which ended limit-down for a second consecutive session as investors sold on a potential downward order revision. HTC was one of the biggest drags on the MSCI Asia-Pacific ex-Japan tech sector for a second straight session, even though at least six analysts said after Friday that they remained confident about HTC's outlook and recommended to buy on weakness.
"Investors were selling because they're adjusting from over-optimism in HTC's third-quarter outlook," said KGI analyst Richard Ko, who holds an "over-weight" on the Taiwanese smartphone maker. HTC plunged 6.87 percent on Monday, the maximum allowed in a day after the slide on Friday triggered by removal from Goldman Sachs's conviction list.
The main TAIEX index was down 124.87 points at 8,712.95 as Asian stocks extended a seven-week losing streak on fears global recovery is losing steam. The index has shed 3.2 percent in the previous two sessions. The glass and ceramics sub-index was the biggest loser, dropping 4.6 percent.
Tourism shares were among the few gainers, up 0.94 percent after China said on Sunday that it would start allowing its citizens to visit Taiwan as individual tourists late this month. Foreign investors were net sellers in the previous session, offloading T$14.933 billion.