Focus Taiwan
Date: 04/01/2020
By: Frances Huang

Taipei, April 1 (CNA) Shares in Taiwan moved lower Wednesday to close below 9,700 points, as investors grew more cautious about the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus during the upcoming Tomb Sweeping Festival, dealers said.

Selling was seen across the board in most sectors, led by contract chipmaker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC), the most heavily weighted stock on the local market, as investors were seeking to hold onto cash due to the global uncertainty caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, dealers said.

The weighted index on the Taiwan Stock Exchange (Taiex) ended down 44.43 points, or 0.46 percent, at the day's low of 9,663.63, after coming off a high of 9,736.00. Turnover totaled NT$117.37 billion (US$3.88 billion) during the session.

The market opened up 0.19 percent on follow-through buying from the previous session, when the Taiex closed up 0.82 percent, but it soon fell into see-saw trading for most of the session, dealers said.    [FULL  STORY]