Taiwan: Stocks edge down tracking weakness in Chinese shares; TSMC up

[TAIPEI] Taiwan stocks edged down on Thursday, tracking weakness in Chinese equities and ahead of the release of June-quarter financial results by market heavyweight TSMC.

The main TAIEX index was down 0.1 per cent at 9,046.08 as of 0141 GMT, after closing higher 0.14 per cent in the previous session.

TSMC, the world's largest contract chipmaker and a barometer for the tech industry, rose 0.7 per cent ahead of the company's second-quarter results due after market hours. Forecasts centre on a net profit of T$72.2 billion, compared with a net profit of T$79 billion in the first quarter.

The electronics subindex sank 0.1 per cent, while the financials subindex lost 0.1 per cent.

The Taiwan dollar firmed T$0.183 to T$31.089 per US dollar.

REUTERS