Taiwan: Stocks down, tracking regional bourses; China fears in focus

[TAIPEI] Taiwan stocks fell on Tuesday, in line with other Asian markets as expectations of more weak data from China spooked investors.

As of 0139 GMT, the main TAIEX index fell 1.2 per cent, to 8,076.58, after closing at 8,174.92 in the previous session, up 1.94 per cent.

Economists polled by Reuters believe China's factory activity shrunk at its fastest pace in three years in August, further evidence of a slowdown in the world's second-biggest economy.

The sour sentiment pushed Taiwan's electronics subindex down 1.3 per cent, while the financials subindex lost 1.5 per cent.

Semiconductors slipped 1.95 per cent, though oil, gas and electric shares outperformed the market, with a 0.56 per cent gain.

The Taiwan dollar firmed T$0.332 to T$32.478 per US dollar.

REUTERS