Taiwan: Stocks edge lower as Greece bewilders markets

[TAIPEI] Taiwan stocks fell on Thursday, bucking modest regional gains, as conflicting signals from Greece on a last-ditch international bailout kept many investors on the sidelines.

As of 0144 GMT, the main TAIEX index fell 0.2 per cent, to 9,360.61 points, after closing up 0.6 per cent in the previous session.

A defiant Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras urged Greeks on Wednesday to reject an international bailout deal, wrecking any prospect of repairing broken relations with European Union partners before a referendum on Sunday that may decide Greece's future in Europe.

Global uncertainties over Europe and China are feeding into Taiwan's economy. The latest gauge of the island's manufacturing activity, the Nikkei/Markit Taiwan PMI, skidded to a 33-month low in June.

The financials subindex lost 0.2 per cent, while the electronics subindex sank 0.1 per cent.

Among actively traded counters, chipmaker United Microelectronics was down 0.4 per cent, while rival TSMC was also off 0.4.

The Taiwan dollar firmed T$0.192 to T$30.908 per US dollar.

REUTERS