TAIPEI: Taiwan stocks were flat on Monday, as gains in financial shares were offset by losses in healthcare counters, which fell after a media report that a government-run fund was set to offload its holdings in healthcare companies. As of 0226 GMT, the main TAIEX index was nearly unchanged at 9,869.86, after closing at 9,873.37 in the previous session. The healthcare sector was down 1.14 percent, led by Scinopharm Taiwan Ltd, which dropped nearly 4 percent.
The National Development Fund will sell its holdings in healthcare stocks after market hours and via auctions, the Economic Daily News reported on Monday, citing an official in charge of the fund. The official was not immediately available for comment. The electronics subindex was down 0.2 percent, while the financials subindex was 0.2 percent higher. The Taiwan dollar softened T$0.067 to T$30.668 per U.S. dollar.
