Taiwan Stock Market Due For Consolidation On Wednesday

The Taiwan stock market has finished higher in three straight sessions, gathering almost 840 points or 5 percent along the way. The Taiwan stock Exchange now rests just above the 16,800-point plateau although it’s expected to run out of steam on Wednesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets suggests consolidation on concerns for the outlook for interest rates. The European markets were mixed and the U.S. bourses were down and the Asian markets also figure to open in the red.

The TSE finished sharply higher on Tuesday following gains from the financial shares and a mixed performance from the technology stocks.

For the day, the index spiked 197.15 points or 1.19 percent to finish at the daily high of 16,807.77 after moving as low as 16,493.07.

Among the actives, Cathay Financial accelerated 3.15 percent, while Mega Financial collected 0.78 percent, CTBC Financial rose 0.18 percent, Fubon Financial climbed 1.42 percent, First Financial increased 1.48 percent, E Sun Financial jumped 1.83 percent, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company rallied 2.38 percent, United Microelectronics Corporation improved 0.78 percent, Hon Hai Precision spiked 2.26 percent, Largan Precision shed 0.60 percent, Catcher Technology declined 1.20 percent, MediaTek soared 3.08 percent, Delta Electronics strengthened 1.26 percent, Formosa Plastic retreated 1.41 percent, Nan Ya Plastics was up 1.67 percent, Asia Cement tumbled 2.42 percent and Taiwan Cement lost 0.47 percent.

The lead from Wall Street is negative as the major averages opened sharply lower on Tuesday, pared some of the losses as the day progressed but still finished firmly in the red.

The Dow dropped 222.84 points or 0.67 percent to finish at 32,990.12, while the NASDAQ slipped 49.74 points or 0.41 percent to close at 12,081.39 and the S&P 500 sank 26.09 points or 0.63 percent to end at 4,132.15.

The early pressure on Wall Street emerged after Federal Reserve governor Christopher Waller was quoted as saying that he favored 50 basis point hike at every meeting until there is a substantial reduction in inflation – and treasury yields ticked higher in response.

In economic news, the Conference Board noted a modest decrease in U.S. consumer confidence in May.

Crude oil prices bounced off a hit two-month high on Tuesday and finished modestly lower on reports that OPEC may suspend Russia’s participation in an oil production deal. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures ended lower by $0.40 or 0.35 percent at $114.67 a barrel after rallying to $119.98 a barrel earlier in the day.