Taiwan stocks seen weaker on accounting jitters

20 Sep, 2004

Taiwan stocks are expected to extend recent losses this week as investors pull back and wait for the fallout to clear from a string of accounting irregularities that have weighed on sentiment.
After jumping 1.4 percent to a three-month closing high on Monday, the TAIEX share index lost steam and ended the week 0.5 percent lower at 5,818.39.
The index has dropped 1.23 percent so far this year.
Trading interest also waned, with daily turnover dropping to T$60-75 billion in the last three sessions after opening the week at nearly T$100 billion.
Small-cap software firm Summit Computer Technology Co Ltd knocked the wind out of the market late on Wednesday, when it confessed to the stock exchange it had inflated revenues for the past four years.
That followed probes into irregularities at Procomp Informatics Ltd and Infodisc Technology Co Ltd, and raised fears that more problems could surface.
"The mood has become more conservative," said Alex Huang, vice president of research at Barits International Securities.
Analysts said September sales reports from display panel makers like AU Optronics Corp, the world's third largest panel maker, and Chi Mei Optoelectronics Corp, are expected to confirm that inventories had been sold off and the tech sector was on track for its seasonal pre-Christmas boom.

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