The Taiwan stock market has alternated between positive and negative finishes through the last four trading days since the end of the four-day winning streak in which it had jumped almost 500 points or 3 percent. The Taiwan Stock Exchange now sits just above the 16,865-point plateau although it’s likely to head south again on Thursday.
The global forecast is murky, with support from crude oil prices offset by weakness from technology stocks. The European and U.S. markets were mixed and the Asian bourses figure to follow suit.
The TSE finished modestly higher on Wednesday following gains from the plastics and mixed performances from the financials and technology stocks.
For the day, the index gained 41.06 points or 0.24 percent to finish at 16,865.97 after trading between 16,559.57 and 16,935.39.
Among the actives, Cathay Financial dropped 0.92 percent, while Mega Financial rose 0.16 percent, Fubon Financial retreated 1.21 percent, E Sun Financial collected 0.38 percent, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company climbed 1.16 percent, United Microelectronics Corporation tanked 3.13 percent, Hon Hai Precision dropped 0.82 percent, Largan Precision shed 0.33 percent, Catcher Technology skidded 1.00 percent, MediaTek added 0.42 percent, Formosa Plastic spiked 1.96 percent, Asia Cement was up 0.11 percent, Taiwan Cement sank 0.42 percent and CTBC Financial and First Financial were unchanged.
The lead from Wall Street provides little clarity as stocks opened higher on Wednesday but turned lower as the day progressed, eventually finishing mixed.
The Dow added 53.62 points or 0.16 percent to finish at 33,730.89, while the NASDAQ tumbled 138.26 points or 0.99 percent to end at 13,857.84 and the S&P 500 fell 16.93 points or 0.41 percent to close at 4,124.66.
The weakness that emerged in the broader markets seemed to coincide with a downturn by shares of Coinbase (COIN), which spiked early but then pulled back well below its debut price. The cryptocurrency exchange’s direct listing on the NASDAQ was closely watched by investors and described as a watershed moment for the industry.
Traders also kept an eye on remarks by Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, who told the Economic Club of Washington the central bank is likely to scale back its asset purchase program well before raising interest rates.
In economic news, the Fed released its Beige Book, which noted economic activity in the U.S. accelerated to a moderate pace from late February to early April. Also, the Labor Department noted another strong increase by import prices in March.
Crude oil futures spiked on Wednesday, buoyed by an upward revision in the global oil demand forecast by the International Energy Agency. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for May jumped $2.97 or 4.9 percent at $63.15 a barrel, the highest settlement in four weeks.
Market Analysis
Renewed Consolidation Called For Taiwan Bourse
2021-04-15 00:30:12
