TAIPEI: Shares in Taiwan closed lower Wednesday after Taiwanese suppliers to Apple Inc. took a beating in the wake of the U.S.-based consumer electronics giant’s disappointing results and lower-than-expected sales guidance, dealers said.
The broader electronics sector came under pressure amid fears that more negative leads will come out during the current earnings season in the U.S. market, which could drag down the tech-heavy NASDAQ index and send ripples through the Taiwan market, the dealers said.
The weighted index on the Taiwan Stock Exchange closed down 87.26 points, or 0.96 percent, at 8,918.70, after moving between 8,896.10 and 8,968.39 on turnover of NT$77.92 billion (US$2.50 billion).
The market opened down 0.56 percent in the wake of a 1 percent drop on the Dow Jones Industrial Average overnight, and selling escalated with Apple concept stocks in focus as investors here took cues from Apple’s disappointing results and forecast to dump the U.S. firm’s Taiwanese suppliers, the dealers said.
Apple reported its results after the U.S. market closed. Its shares fell 6.85 percent in after-hours trading on Wall Street.
“Investors here feared that Apple shares will fall sharply after Wall Street opens later in the day following the after-hours plunge,” Mega International Investment Services Corp. analyst Alex Huang said.
