Taiwan: Stocks edge lower, tracking regional markets

[TAIPEI] Taiwan stocks edged lower on Thursday, tracking weak regional stocks after the US Federal Reserve minutes indicated caution on further interest rate hikes.

The main Taiex index fell 0.1 per cent to 9,773.62 points, as of 0326 GMT, after closing up 0.2 per cent on Wednesday.

The financials subindex lost 0.4 per cent, but the electronics subindex rose 0.1 per cent.

Among actively traded shares, display maker AU Optronics was down 0.8 per cent.

Taiwan will issue industrial output data for January after the market closes. The output tracks the island's export activity closely, and its rise in December marked the fifth straight month of year-on-year growth.

The Taiwan dollar softened NT$0.006 to NT$30.785 per US dollar.

REUTERS