Taiwan Stock Market May Find Support On Thursday

The Taiwan stock market has finished lower in three straight sessions, sinking more than 440 points or 2.4 percent along the way. The Taiwan Stock Exchange now rests just above the 17,135-point plateau although it may stop the bleeding on Thursday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is mixed to higher, with support from oil and technology stocks offset by ongoing Covid-19 concerns. The European markets were up and the U.S. bourses were mixed and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.

The TSE finished modestly lower on Wednesday following losses from the financial shares, technology stocks and cement companies.

For the day, the index dropped 134.65 points or 0.78 percent to finish at 17,135.22 after trading between 16,893.70 and 17,252.87.

Among the actives, Cathay Financial retreated 2.18 percent, while Mega Financial dipped 0.15 percent, CTBC Financial and First Financial both lost 0.44 percent, Fubon Financial skidded 1.05 percent, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company eased 0.17 percent, United Microelectronics Corporation tumbled 2.45 percent, Hon Hai Precision dropped 0.90 percent, Largan Precision added 0.51 percent, Catcher Technology shed 0.53 percent, MediaTek plunged 5.12 percent, Formosa Plastic added 0.30 percent, Asia Cement declined 1.70 percent, Taiwan Cement sank 1.13 percent and Delta Electronics and E Sun Financial were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is schizophrenic as the major averages opened slightly higher on Wednesday before the NASDAQ moved higher, the Dow moved lower and the S&P straddled the line.

The Dow dropped 127.59 points or 0.36 percent to finish at 34,930.93, while the NASDAQ climbed 102.01 points or 0.70 percent to end at 14,762.58 and the S&P 500 eased 0.82 points or 0.02 percent to close at 4,400.64.

The mixed picture on Wall Street came as technology stocks advanced, riding on strong results from Apple Inc, Alphabet and Microsoft.

The Federal Open Market Committee, which concluded its two-day monetary policy meeting Wednesday afternoon, left the target range for its federal funds rate unchanged at 0 to 0.25 percent as expected, and said it will continue with its $120 billion-a-month bond-buying program.

The bank, which said the economy is strengthening despite concerns over the spread of the coronavirus, added that risks to the economic outlook remain.

Crude oil prices moved higher Wednesday, lifted by data showing a larger-than-expected drop in U.S. crude inventories last week. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for September ended up $0.74 or 1 percent at $72.39 a barrel.