Bargain Hunting May Boost Taiwan Stock Market

The Taiwan stock market has tracked lower in two straight sessions, stumbling more than 275 points or 1.6 percent along the way. The Taiwan Stock Exchange now sits just above the 16,270-point plateau although it may find traction on Thursday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is cautiously optimistic, with optimism from easing treasury yields offset by concerns for the health of the world’s economies. The European markets were mixed and the U.S. bourses were up and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.

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

For the day, the index slumped 180.96 points or 1.10 percent to finish at 16,273.38 after trading between 16,203.34 and 16,419.48.

Among the actives, Cathay Financial dropped 2.07 percent, while Mega Financial surrendered 2.12 percent, CTBC Financial retreated 2.07 percent, First Financial declined 1.52 percent, Fubon Financial slumped 1.32 percent, E Sun Financial weakened 1.24 percent, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company tumbled 1.70 percent, United Microelectronics Corporation tanked 2.54 percent, Hon Hai Precision dropped 0.96 percent, Largan Precision plunged 2.80 percent, Catcher Technology shed 0.54 percent, MediaTek climbed 1.04 percent, Delta Electronics skidded 1.04 percent, Novatek Microelectronics perked 0.12 percent, Formosa Plastics dipped 0.88 percent, Nan Ya Plastics fell 2.13 percent, Asia Cement lost 0.76 percent, Taiwan Cement sank 0.90 percent and China Steel was down 2.41 percent.

The lead from Wall Street is positive as the major averages opened slightly higher on Wednesday, saw peaks and valleys throughout the session before ending firmly in the green.

The Dow climbed 127.17 points or 0.39 percent to finish at 33,129.55, while the NASDAQ rallied 176.54 points or 1.35 percent to end at 13,236.01 and the S&P 500 gained 34.30 points or 0.81 percent to close at 4,263.75.

Trading on Wall Street was driven in reaction to bond market activity, with treasury yields fluctuating over the course of the session. The higher close by stocks came as yields finished firmly in negative territory, giving back ground after reaching their highest levels in 16 years.

Treasury yields closed lower following the release of a report from payroll processor ADP showing private sector job growth slowed by much more than expected in September.

Traders were still cautious ahead of the Labor Department’s more closely watched report on Friday, which may affect the outlook for interest rates.

Crude oil prices plummeted on Wednesday, weighed down by concerns about the outlook for demand amid worries about an economic slowdown. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for November ended lower by $5.01 or 5.6 percent at $84.22 a barrel.

Closer to home, Taiwan will release September numbers for consumer prices later today; in August, overall inflation was up 0.18 percent on month and 2.52 percent on year.