TAIPEI: Shares in Taiwan extended losses Wednesday from a session earlier amid cautious sentiment before the U.S. Federal Reserve wraps up its two-day policymaking meeting later in the day, dealers said.
Selling pressure largely focused on old economy stocks as investors pocketed their gains seen in recent sessions, while the bellwether electronics sector appeared resilient, lending some support to the broader market, they said.
The weighted index on the Taiwan Stock Exchange closed down 22.95 points, or 0.24 percent, at 9,189.83, after moving between 9,170.09 and 9,242.22, on turnover of NT$91.60 billion (US$2.95 billion).
The market opened up 0.25 percent in the wake of the gains posted on Wall Street overnight, but remained in consolidation mode throughout the session with buying in large-cap, high-tech stocks offsetting selling in old economy stocks, dealers said.
“Before the Fed concludes the policymaking meeting later today, it was no surprise that the local equity market was dominated by caution to trade in a narrow range throughout the session,” Mega International Investment Services Corp. analyst Alex Huang said.