Taiwan: Stocks fall on profit-taking; Trump worries weigh on market

[TAIPEI] Taiwan stocks fell on Friday as investors booked profits ahead of the weekend amid uncertainties surrounding US President Donald Trump after reports he tried to influence a federal investigation.

Foreign investors were net sellers of local equities for the first time in two weeks on Thursday, even as Wall Street bounced back overnight from its worst sell-off in more than eight months.

The choppiness came following the appointment of former FBI chief Robert Mueller to investigate alleged Russian interference in the presidential election and possible collusion between Trump's campaign and Moscow.

The main Taiex index was down 0.1 per cent at 9,959.13 as of 0141 GMT, after closing 0.4 per cent lower in the previous session.

The electronics subindex was flat, while the financials subindex dropped 0.3 per cent.

Big-cap electronics companies Hon Hai Precision and TSMC were both down.

The Taiwan dollar softened NT$0.043 to NT$30.268 per US dollar.

REUTERS