Taiwan Bourse Expected To Remain Rangebound

The Taiwan stock market has finished higher in two of three trading days since the end of the two-day slide in which it had fallen more than 250 points or 1.5 percent. The Taiwan stock Exchange now rests just above the 16,670-point plateau although it’s likely to head south again on Thursday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is soft on concerns for rising inflation and slowing growth. The European and U.S. markets were down and the Asian bourses are expected to follow that lead.

The TSE finished modestly higher on Wednesday following gains from the financial shares, technology stocks and cement and plastics companies.

For the day, the index advanced 157.63 points or 0.95 percent to finish at 16,670.51 after trading between 16,538.67 and 16,702.99.

Among the actives, CTBC Financial gained 0.75 percent, while Fubon Financial collected 0.63 percent, E Sun Financial improved 0.51 percent, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company strengthened 1.68 percent, United Microelectronics Corporation climbed 1.35 percent, Hon Hai Precision rose 0.44 percent, Largan Precision advanced 0.95 percent, Catcher Technology fell 0.29 percent, MediaTek soared 4.49 percent, Delta Electronics added 0.64 percent, Formosa Plastics perked 0.47 percent, Nan Ya Plastics was up 0.24 percent, Asia Cement rallied 1.36 percent, Taiwan Cement gathered 0.97 percent and Cathay Financial, Mega Financial and First Financial were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is negative as the major averages opened lower and spent most of the session in the red before finishing firmly in negative territory.

The Dow shed 269.24 points or 0.81 percent to finish at 32,910.90, while the NASDAQ lost 88.96 points or 0.73 percent to end at 12,086.27 and the S&P 500 sank 44.91 points or 1.08 percent to close at 4,115.77.

The weakness on Wall Street followed lower global growth forecasts by the World Bank and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development weighed as well.

Higher treasury yields also caused the market’s decline after they rose above the psychologically important 3 percent level, fueling concerns about inflation.

In economic news, the Commerce Department said wholesale inventories in the United States increased more than expected in April, although they were down from the previous month.

Crude oil prices climbed higher on Wednesday, buoyed by a sharp drop in gasoline inventories in the U.S. last week, and on optimism for increased demand from China. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for July ended higher by $2.70 or 2.3 percent at $122.11 a barrel, hitting a three-week high.