Taiwan shares ended 0.52 percent weaker on Wednesday at a 2-1/2 week closing low as investors took profit in tech shares before the Lunar New Year, but contract notebook PC makers like Compal and Wistron rose after Microsoft released Vista.
The main TAIEX share index closed down 40.27 points to 7,699.64, falling for a fifth straight day. The electronics sub-index declined 0.71 percent, while the banking and insurance index lost 0.08 percent. The TAIEX had hit a 6-year high last week.
Turnover was rose to T$91.56 billion ($2.8 billion) from T$77.30 billion on Tuesday. "Investors are taking profit before the holidays and ahead of the Fed's meeting today. Earning guidances were not too optimistic either so people are getting out in the short run," said Primasia Securities analyst Takao Fujiki.
Turnover was low as foreign investors await the US Federal Reserve's monetary policy meeting results later in the day, which could shed light on how it views the strength of the US economy, analysts said.
Microsoft rolled out its Windows Vista product at retailers around the world on Tuesday, and analysts said this new operating system should drive notebook PC sales this year. Taiwan makers produce around 80 percent of the world's laptops.
Compal Electronics Inc rose 2.23 percent while Wistron Corp gained 3.05 percent. Taiwan's stock market will be closed from February 15 to February 25 for the Lunar New Year holiday.
Fujiki said the market was likely to trade between 7,500 and 8,000 points this week. Memory chip packaging and testing firm Powertech Technology fell 4.86 percent after The Economic Daily reported that Intel might be interested in investing in the company.
The world's No 3 microchip packaging firm, Siliconware Precision Industries Ltd, fell 3.02 percent before its fourth-quarter earnings. The firm posted results above market expectations after the market closed. Larger rival Advanced Semiconductor Engineering Inc (ASE) ended flat.
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