Taiwan stocks closed flat on Tuesday as investors shunned financial and industrial issues that had recently outperformed but put their money into tech firms like TSMC, encouraged by gains in US counterparts. The TAIEX share index inched up 0.07 percent to end at 5,910.85 points, following the last session's 0.18 percent fall. The index was trapped in a tight range as turnover fell to T$55.90 billion from T$60.31 billion on Monday.
"Financial shares really need a break after recent advances and even though techs gained today, we think their fundamentals remain weak," said Maggie Chien, consultant at Capital Investment Management.
The financial sub-index edged up 0.14 percent, taking a breather after rising about 3.3 percent over the past month as investors bet on more mergers in the banking industry.
Among the major decliners, Shin Kong Financial Holding Co fell 1.35 percent and rival Fubon Financial Holding Co was off 0.6 percent.
The electronics sector finished up 0.61 percent after the US Nasdaq rose 0.42 percent on Monday, when Microsoft Corp began trading ex-dividend. The Philadelphia semiconductor index jumped 1.36 percent. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co, the world's top contract maker of microchips, gained 1.89 percent and display screen maker AU Optronics Corp rose 0.52 percent.
Foreign investors have been big buyers of Taiwan stocks recently, accumulating T$9.59 billion worth of local shares on Monday.
The over-the-counter market's TAISDAQ index rose 0.34 percent to close at 111.59, while November TAIEX futures dropped 0.2 percent to 5,929.