Taiwan: Stocks fall; TSMC, Hon Hai down on lower December sales

[TAIPEI] Taiwan stocks fell on Monday, heading for their fifth session of loss in six, as investors stayed cautious over market routs in China and market heavyweights TSMC and Hon Hai Precision declined on lower December sales.

The main TAIEX index was down 1.9 per cent at 7,744.93, after falling as much as 2 per cent earlier in the day. It closed 0.5 per cent higher on Friday.

The electronics subindex sank 2 per cent, while the financials subindex lost 1.9 per cent.

TSMC fell 1.8 per cent after the world's top contract chip maker said on Friday December sells fell both on year and on month.

Hon Hai Precision, a major assembler of Apple Inc's latest iPhones, fell 3 per cent after it said on Friday December revenues declined by a fifth.

The Taiwan dollar firmed T$0.052 to T$33.449 per US dollar.

REUTERS