Taiwan Stocks Tipped To Extend Wednesday’s Losses

The Taiwan stock market turned lower again on Wednesday, one day after snapping the two-day slide in which it had plunged almost 650 points or 4 percent. The Taiwan Stock Exchange now sits just above the 16,000-point plateau and it’s expected to open under pressure again on Thursday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is mixed to lower, with technology stocks expected to take heavy damage amidst concerns over interest rates. The European markets were up and the U.S. bourses were down and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.

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

For the day, the index shed 55.45 points or 0.35 percent to finish at 16,006.25 after trading between 15,953.27 and 16,081.15.

Among the actives, Cathay Financial tanked 3.10 percent, while Mega Financial collected 0.39 percent, CTBC Financial stumbled 1.63 percent, Fubon Financial declined 1.34 percent, E Sun Financial advanced 0.99 percent, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company added 0.58 percent, United Microelectronics Corporation shed 0.51 percent, Hon Hai Precision dropped 0.96 percent, Largan Precision fell 0.31 percent, Catcher Technology plunged 4.50 percent, MediaTek climbed 1.10 percent, Delta Electronics retreated 1.32 percent, Novatek Microelectronics rose 0.26 percent, Formosa Plastic slumped 1.45 percent, Asia Cement tumbled 1.84 percent, Taiwan Cement surrendered 2.74 percent and First Financial and Nan Ya Plastics were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is broadly negative as the major averages shook off early strength on Wednesday and accelerated into the red as the day progressed, finishing well under water.

The Dow tumbled 326.63 points or 1.02 percent to finish at 31,834.11, while the NASDAQ plummeted 373.44 points or 3.18 percent to end at 11,364.24 and the S&P 500 sank 65.87 points or 1.65 percent to close at 3,935.18.

The weakness that emerged on Wall Street came as traders digested a highly anticipated Labor Department report showing the annual rate of inflation slowed less than expected in April.

The data added to concerns the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates more aggressively in an effort to bring inflation down at a faster rate, which analysts fear could lead to a period of stagflation or an outright recession.

Crude oil prices climbed higher on Wednesday, rebounding sharply from recent losses thanks to data showing a significant drop in flows of Russian gas to Europe. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for June ended higher by $5.95 or 6 percent at $105.71 a barrel.