Taiwan: Stocks fall as central bank holds rate, track overseas markets

[TAIPEI] Taiwan stocks fell on Friday in line with weakness in overseas markets and after the island's central bank stood pat on interest rates, as expected.

The central bank left the discount rate unchanged after its quarterly meeting on Thursday, saying it has done all it can to support the trade-dependent economy and called for more structural policies to keep growth on track.

As of 0300 GMT, the main TAIEX index fell 0.7 per cent, to 9,207.15 points, after closing up 0.8 per cent in the previous session.

The electronics subindex sank 0.6 per cent, while the financials subindex lost 1.1 per cent.

Among actively traded counters, big-cap chipmaker TSMC was down 0.5 per cent, while electronics maker Hon Hai Precision retreated 0.9 per cent.

The Taiwan dollar softened NT$0.018 to NT$31.374 per US dollar.

REUTERS