Taiwan stocks closed 1.35 percent lower on Monday, pressured by heavyweights such as TSMC, with glass and ceramics counters the biggest losers, down 3.61 percent. The main TAIEX index fell 108.99 points to 7,967.62, after opening flat. Financial shares shed 2.18 percent, with Cathay Financial Holding losing 2.89 percent. Electronics shares were down 1.03 percent. TSMC fell 2.11 percent and was the most heavily traded share in the session. HTC however gained 0.64 percent.
The Taiwan dollar was down by T$0.015 to trade at T$29.600. Foreign investors were net buyers on Friday, bringing their total buying to T$36.03 billion this month.