Taiwan: Stocks fall on profit-taking after 4-session gain

[TAIPEI] Taiwan stocks fell on profit-taking and caution on Wednesday, snapping a four-session gaining streak and ahead of announcements of third-quarter earnings by tech companies due in the coming weeks.

As of 0236 GMT, the main TAIEX index fell 0.5 per cent, to 8,614.70, after closing up nearly 0.3 per cent in the previous session.

The electronics subindex shed 0.6 per cent, while the financials subindex lost 0.5 per cent.

Among actively traded shares, display makers were off. AU Optronics and Innolux were trading 4.1 per cent and 4 per cent lower, respectively.

Taiwan's export orders for September issued late Tuesday showed a less than expected fall, but they were still down for the sixth month running with ANZ economists pointing to underlying weakness when factoring out orders from the season's launch of new smartphones.

The Taiwan dollar firmed TW$0.138 to TW$32.372 per US dollar.

REUTERS