Taiwan's share prices fell marginally Friday, with the weighted index, the market's key barometer, falling 7.6 points, or 0.1 percent, to close at 6,973.28. The local bourse opened at the day's high of 7,046.46 and reached a low of 6,950.92 during the trading session. A total of 5.29 billion shares changed hands on market turnover of NT$149.4 billion (US$4.55 billion). Two of the eight major stock categories gained ground, with paper and pulp issues rising 0.64 percent and machinery and electronics shares increasing 0.07 percent. Five of the eight major stock categories lost ground, with cement stocks taking the biggest hit, falling 1.09 percent. Construction issues declined 0.9 percent, banking and financial shares decreased 0.48 percent, and foodstuff issues and textile stocks both dropped 0.4 percent. Meanwhile, plastics and chemicals shares remained unchanged. Losers outnumbered gainers 1,265 to 1,054, with 182 stocks remaining unchanged. Foreign institutional investors were net buyers of NT$349 million in shares. 