Taiwan Stock Market Due For Consolidation On Wednesday

The Taiwan stock market has moved higher in three straight sessions, advancing more than 450 points or 2.7 percent along the way. The Taiwan Stock Exchange now sits just above the 17,540-point plateau although it’s likely to spin its wheels on Wednesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets suggests mild consolidation after several days of gains, although support from crude oil prices should limit the downside. The European and U.S. markets were slightly lower and the Asian markets are expected to open in similar fashion.

The TSE finished modestly higher on Tuesday following gains from the technology stocks, weakness from the cement companies and a mixed picture from the financial sector.

For the day, the index climbed 126.06 points or 0.72 percent to finish at 17,541.36 after trading between 17,433.10 and 17,581.52.

Among the actives, Cathay Financial fell 0.34 percent, while Mega Financial rose 0.30 percent, CTBC Financial collected 0.64 percent, Fubon Financial sank 0.68 percent, First Financial was up 0.22 percent, E Sun Financial improved 0.37 percent, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company climbed 1.50 percent, United Microelectronics Corporation advanced 0.96 percent, Hon Hai Precision added 0.47 percent, Largan Precision gained 0.49 percent, Catcher Technology gathered 1.23 percent, MediaTek dipped 0.20 percent, Delta Electronics rallied 2.50 percent, Formosa Plastic plunged 2.27 percent, Asia Cement eased 0.22 percent and Taiwan Cement lost 0.31 percent.

The lead from Wall Street is negative as the major averages opened lower on Tuesday and spent the entire session in the re easing from record closing highs.

The Dow skidded 112.24 points or 0.31 percent to finish at 36,319.98, while the NASDAQ lost 95.81 points or 0.60 percent to close at 15,886.54 and the S&P 500 fell 16.45 points or 0.35 percent to end at 4,695.25.

Crude oil futures settled sharply higher on Tuesday amid rising hopes about the outlook for energy demand after the United States lifted travel restrictions to several countries. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for December ended up by $2.22 or 2.7 percent at $84.15 a barrel.

The pullback on Wall Street partly reflected profit taking, as some traders cashed in on the recent strength in the markets.

Economic news may begin to attract increased attention, as investors try to gauge when the Federal Reserve will start to begin raising interest rates. The Fed has announced plans to begin scaling back its asset purchases but signaled that it will not be in a hurry to raise rates.

On the U.S. economic front, the Labor Department released a report showing producer prices increased by slightly more than anticipated in October.

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