Taiwan shares fall, tracking overseas markets

Taiwan stocks fell on Friday, in line with other regional bourses, weighed down by tech heavyweights such as Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC). As of 0136 GMT, the main TAIEX index was down 0.7 percent at 8,682.61, after ending at 8,744.83 in the previous session. The index rose about 4 percent in March, helped partly by strong foreign buying. Foreign investors bought a net T$160 billion worth of Taiwan stocks in March.
The electronics subindex lost 0.9 percent, while the financials subindex fell 0.8 percent. TSMC, the most heavily weighted stock and the world's top contract chip maker, shed 1.5 percent. The Taiwan dollar firmed T$0.017 to T$32.265 per US dollar.