The Taiwan stock market has finished lower in two straight sessions, sinking nearly 300 points or 1.7 percent along the way. The Taiwan Stock Exchange now sits just above the 18,225-point plateau and it may take further damage on Thursday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets suggests further consolidation as rising bond yields continue to hammer technology stocks – although support from crude oil may limit the downside. The European markets were up and the U.S. markets were down and the Asian markets figure to follow the latter lead.
The TSE finished modestly lower on Wednesday following losses from the financials and cement stocks, while the technology companies also were mostly in the red.
For the day, the index retreated 151.14 points or 0.82 percent to finish at 18,227.46 after trading between 18,199.35 and 18,359.14.
Among the actives, Cathay Financial skidded 1.20 percent, while Mega Financial lost 0.67 percent, CTBC Financial fell 0.36 percent, Fubon Financial sank 0.76 percent, E Sun Financial slumped 0.68 percent, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company retreated 1.21 percent, United Microelectronics Corporation declined 1.57 percent, Largan Precision dipped 0.24 percent, Catcher Technology rose 0.31 percent, MediaTek shed 0.45 percent, Delta Electronics added 0.36 percent, Formosa Plastic weakened 0.47 percent, Asia Cement slid 0.34 percent, Taiwan Cement eased 0.31 percent and Hon Hai Precision and First Financial were unchanged.
The lead from Wall Street is broadly negative as the major averages were unable to hold on to early gains on Wednesday, bouncing back and forth across the unchanged line before finishing in the red for the second straight session.
For the day, the Dow tumbled 339.82 points or 0.96 percent to finish at 35,028.65, while the NASDAQ dropped 166.64 points or 1.15 percent to close at 14,340.25 and the S&P 500 sank 44.35 points or 0.97 percent to end at 4.532.76.
The late slide on Wall Street came amid rising Treasury yields and worries over inflation and looming interest rate hikes after U.S. Treasury yields hit fresh two-year highs amid Fed rate hike expectations.
Most analysts believe a rate hike of at least 25 basis points from the FOMC is imminent, although some are now starting to think it may be a 50 bp boost.
In economic news, the Commerce Department said that U.S. homebuilding increased to a nine-month high in December amid a surge in multi-family housing projects.
Crude oil prices continued their recent upward surge on Wednesday, rising for the fifth straight day to a fresh seven-year high following supply issues in the Middle East. West Texas Intermediate for February contract jumped $1.22 or 1.43 percent to $86.65 per barrel.
Market Analysis
Taiwan Stock Market Tipped To Open In The Red
2022-01-20 00:30:15
