The Taiwan stock market has finished lower in back-to-back trading days, dropping more than 160 points or 0.9 percent along the way. The Taiwan Stock Exchange now sits just above the 17,080-point plateau although it may stop the bleeding on Tuesday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets suggests directionless trade amidst a lack of catalysts, with weakness from the oil stocks offset by gains from technology shares. The European and U.S. markets were mixed and little changed and the Asian bourses figure to follow suit.
The TSE finished modestly lower on Monday following losses from the technology stocks and cement companies, while the plastics were firm and the financials were mixed.
For the day, the index lost 63.50 points or 0.37 percent to finish at 17,083.91 after trading between 16,775.85 and 17,189.23.
Among the actives, Cathay Financial lost 0.55 percent, while Mega Financial collected 0.30 percent, CTBC Financial sank 0.88 percent, Fubon Financial added 0.41 percent, First Financial slid 0.67 percent, E Sun Financial eased 0.19 percent, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company shed 0.50 percent, United Microelectronics Corporation skidded 1.32 percent, Hon Hai Precision retreated 1.34 percent, Largan Precision climbed 1.32 percent, Catcher Technology dropped 0.82 percent, MediaTek fell 0.41 percent, Formosa Plastic gained 0.47 percent, Asia Cement was down 0.58 percent, Taiwan Cement declined 0.77 percent and Delta Electronics was unchanged.
The lead from Wall Street is inconsistent as the major averages quickly headed south on Monday; the Dow and the S&P saw the losses accelerate as the day progressed, while the NASDAQ ended up in positive territory.
The Dow dropped 126.15 points or 0.36 percent to finish at 34,630.24, while the NASDAQ gained 67.23 points or 0.49 percent to end at 13,881.72 and the S&P 500 fell 3.37 points or 0.08 percent to close at 4,226.52.
The choppy trading on Wall Street came as traders seemed reluctant to make significant moves after the major averages climbed to their best closing levels in a month last week.
Traders remain optimistic about the economic outlook but are still on edge about the possibility of the Federal Reserve scaling back its ultra-easy monetary policy.
Crude oil prices drifted lower Monday, coming off 30-month highs after data showed a drop in China’s crude oil imports in April. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for July ended down by $0.39 or 0.6 percent at $69.23 a barrel.
Closer to home, Taiwan will release May figures for imports, exports and trade balance later today. Imports are expected to jump 25.7 percent on year after gaining 26.4 percent in April. Exports are called higher by an annual 26.0 percent after spiking 38.7 percent in the previous month. The trade surplus is pegged at $5.995 billion, down from $6.18 billion a month earlier.
Taiwan also will see May figures for consumer prices; in April, overall inflation was up 0.2 percent on month and 2.09 percent on year, while wholesale prices climbed an annual 9.62 percent.
Market Analysis
Tech Shares May Boost Taiwan Stock Market
2021-06-08 00:31:19
