Taiwan stocks ended at a three-week low on Thursday as record high oil prices knocked sentiment but late buying of big techs such as Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co offset the losses. The main TAIEX share index ended down 0.15 percent at 6,212.60, after sinking as much as 0.67 percent in intraday trade. Turnover remained soft at T$76.1 billion ($2.37 billion) compared to the T$80.5 billion on Wednesday.
"Its a bad combination of oil prices over $61 and foreigners switching to be net sellers this month," said Maddux Lin, an assistant vice president at Grand Cathay Securities in Taipei.
"But the foreign selling has more to do with their annual holidays than its does with bad corporate fundamentals," he said.
TSMC ended the day unchanged at T$54.6 after sinking 2.0 percent during the session.
TSMC, the world's top contract maker of microchips and the index's most heavily weighted issue, said after trading ended that sales in June rose, the fourth straight monthly rise.
Foreign investors have turned into net sellers of local stocks this week after over two months of nearly continuous net buying, but the selling has been moderate.
TSMC's smaller rival United Microelectronics Corp gained 1.72 percent to T$23.60, after the Philadelphia semiconductor index defied Wall St weakness to rise 1.05 percent on Wednesday.
However, other electronics manufacturers were hit hard during the session as were industrials, which are facing higher fuel bills.
AU Optronics Corp, the world's No 3 maker of display screens, slumped 2.03 percent to T$53.2. The rubber index sank 1.86 percent and the cement sector lost 1.0 percent.
The over-the-counter market's TAISDAQ index fell 0.31 percent to close at 124.82, while July TAIEX futures index slipped 0.26 percent to 6,166.