Taiwan stocks down

Taiwan stocks fell 1.1 percent to a near three-week low on Friday, driven down by a big drop in financial shares on fears of potential foreign exchange losses among insurers. Fund managers saw the correction coming to a halt after next week, with electronics being the next rising star.
"Some banks have reported forex losses but insurance companies will not announce earnings until later, so investors are selling them down on the uncertainty," said Kevin Lin, vice president of Fuh Hong Financial Planning. The main TAIEX share index fell 1.13 percent to 8,782.72. It had fallen as much as 1.3 percent during the session. Financial shares tumbled 2.72 percent with heavy-weighted Cathay Financial Holding down 1.71 percent. Electronic shares fell 0.06 percent. Semiconductors were among the few gainers, up 0.24 percent. The Taiwan dollar was up 2.56 percent to stand at T$29.32 against the US dollar.