The Taiwan stock market on Wednesday snapped the seven-day winning streak in which it had spiked more than 1,150 points or 6 percent. The Taiwan Stock Exchange now rests just above the 17,470-point plateau and it may remain stuck in neutral on Thursday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is mixed and flat ahead of key U.S. employment data at the end of the week, while support from crude oil prices may nudge markets into the green. The European and U.S. markets were mixed and little changed and the Asian bourses figure to follow suit.
The TSE finished slightly lower on Wednesday following losses from the financial shares and mixed performances from the technology and cement companies.
For the day, the index dipped 16.30 points or 0.09 percent to finish at 17,473.99 after trading between 17,415.52 and 17,503.93.
Among the actives, Cathay Financial shed 0.67 percent, while Mega Financial lost 0.76 percent, Fubon Financial dropped 0.94 percent, First Financial dipped 0.22 percent, E Sun Financial tanked 2.07 percent, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company eased 0.16 percent, United Microelectronics Corporation jumped 1.58 percent, Largan Precision climbed 1.12 percent, Catcher Technology fell 0.30 percent, MediaTek rallied 2.89 percent, Delta Electronics added 0.55 percent, Formosa Plastic plunged 2.44 percent, Asia Cement gathered 1.67 percent, Taiwan Cement was down 0.10 percent and Hon Hai Precision and CTBC Financial were unchanged.
The lead from Wall Street is inconsistent as the major averages opened higher on Wednesday, although the Dow quickly slipped into negative territory and finished in the red.
The Dow shed 48.20 points or 0.14 percent to finish at 35,312.53, while the NASDAQ gained 50.15 points or 0.33 percent to close at a record 15,309.38 and the S&P 500 rose 1.41 points or 0.03 percent to end at 4,524.09.
The lackluster close on Wall Street came as traders continued to look ahead to the release of the Labor Department’s closely watched monthly jobs report on Friday.
Economists currently expect employment to jump by 750,000 jobs in August after surging by 943,000 jobs in July. The unemployment rate is expected to dip to 5.2 percent from 5.4 percent.
In economic news, payroll processor ADP noted weaker than expected private sector job growth in August. And the Institute for Supply Management said U.S. manufacturing activity unexpectedly grew at a slightly faster rate in August.
Crude oil futures settled marginally higher on Wednesday after data showed a drop in U.S. crude inventories last week. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for October ended up $0.09 or 0.1 percent at $68.59 a barrel.
Market Analysis
Soft Start Seen For Taiwan Stock Market
2021-09-02 00:30:08
