Taiwan: Stocks flat after govt unveils stimulus package

[TAIPEI] Taiwan stocks were little changed on Friday as investors remained cautious after the government announced a stimulus package amid uncertainty from trading partners the United States and China, and the central bank left its policy rate steady as expected.

The main Taiex index was down 0.1 per cent at 9,925.43 as of 0110 GMT, after closing marginally higher in the previous session.

Some investors have been cautious about valuations as the key stock index has risen about 7 per cent so far this year, hitting its highest in almost two years recently.

The electronics subindex declined 0.1 per cent, while the financials subindex dropped 0.1 per cent.

Among the most actively traded stocks, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) was off 0.8 per cent. TSMC is the world's biggest contract chip maker and an Apple Inc supplier.

The Taiwan dollar softened NT$0.01 to NT$30.498 per US dollar, hovering near a more than two-year high hit earlier this week.

REUTERS