Taiwan Stock Market Tipped To Head South Again On Thursday

The Taiwan stock market on Wednesday halted the two-day slide in which it had plummeted more than 500 points or 3.7 percent. The Taiwan Stock Exchange now rests just above the 14,320-point plateau although it’s expected to see renewed consolidation on Thursday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is negative on concerns about the outlook for interest rates. The European and U.S. markets were down and the Asian markets are expected to open in similar fashion.

The TSE finished sharply higher with gains across the board – especially among the financials, technology stocks and cement companies.

For the day, the index surged 374.06 points or 2.68 percent to finish at 14,324.68 after trading between 14,194.94 and 14,403.51.

Among the actives, Cathay Financial spiked 3.88 percent, while Mega Financial climbed 4.19 percent, CTBC Financial gathered 2.18 percent, Fubon Financial skyrocketed 5.20 percent, First Financial advanced 3.27 percent, E. Sun Financial perked 2.26 percent, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company surged 4.67 percent, United Microelectronics Corporation soared 3.54 percent, Hon Hai Precision jumped 1.99 percent, MediaTek rallied 3.26 percent, Largan Precision strengthened 1.36 percent, Catcher Technology improved 1.55 percent, Delta Electronics accelerated 3.68 percent, Asia Cement increased 1.14 percent, Taiwan Cement gained 1.95 percent, Formosa Plastic rose 0.35 percent and Nan Ya Plastics was up 2.31 percent.

The lead from Wall Street is soft as the major averages opened lower on Wednesday, flirted with the unchanged line before finally ending with modest losses.

The Dow tumbled 208.54 points or 0.67 percent to finish at 30,772.79, while the NASDAQ eased 17.15 points or 0.15 percent to end at 11,247.58 and the S&P 500 fell 17.02 points or 0.45 percent to close at 3,801.78.

The early weakness on Wall Street came as a Labor Department report showing a bigger than expected increase in U.S. consumer prices added to concerns about the outlook for interest rates.

The bigger than expected jump in inflation has solidified expectations the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates by 75 basis points later this month and increases the likelihood of another 75-basis point rate hike in September.

Later in the day, the Fed released its Beige Book, a compilation of anecdotal evidence on economic conditions in each of the twelve Fed districts, which noted U.S. economic activity has expanded at a modest pace since mid-May.

Crude oil prices shrugged off a surge in U.S. inflation and climbed higher on Wednesday, rebounding smartly after suffering a sharp loss in the previous session. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for August ended higher by $0.46 at $96.30 a barrel.

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