Taiwan stocks dragged lower

Taiwan stocks retreated on Wednesday after four consecutive sessions of gains, weighed down by chipmakers, with heavyweight TSMC losing 2 percent. At 0259 GMT, the main TAIEX index was down 0.35 percent, or 28.99 points, at 8,231.22, after opening down 0.12 percent. Electronics shares erased 0.7 percent, while banks firmed 0.3 percent.Smartphone maker HTC Corp advanced 2.6 percent, and camera module maker Largan Precision edged up 0.9 percent. The Taiwan dollar climbed T$0.049 to T$29.483 versus the US dollar.