Bargain Hunting May Boost Taiwan Stock Market

(RTTNews) - The Taiwan stock market has finished lower in two of three trading days since the end of the two-day winning streak in which it had risen more than 300 points or 1.3 percent. The Taiwan Stock Exchange now sits just above the 21,730-point plateau and it's expected to move back to the upside again on Tuesday. The global forecast for the Asian markets in positive on an improved outlook for interest rates. The European markets were down and the U.S. bourses were up and the Asian markets figure to follow the latter lead.

The TSE finished sharply lower on Monday following losses from the financial shares and technology stocks. For the day, the index tumbled 313.72 points or 1.42 percent to finish at 21,732.02 after trading between 21,551.58 and 21,801.32. Among the actives, Mega Financial shed 0.50 percent, while Fubon Financial fell 0.24 percent, E Sun Financial lost 0.63 percent, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company plunged 3.32 percent, United Microelectronics Corporation retreated 1.36 percent, Hon Hai Precision rose 0.32 percent, Largan Precision tumbled 1.71 percent, Catcher Technology improved 0.72 percent, MediaTek added 0.40 percent, Novatek Microelectronics climbed 1.16 percent, Formosa Plastics jumped 1.61 percent, Nan Ya Plastics gained 0.37 percent, Asia Cement perked 0.12 percent and Cathay Financial and CTBC Financial were unchanged. The lead from Wall Street is upbeat as the major averages shook off early weakness, using a late-day surge to finish solidly in the green.

For the day, the Dow jumped 374.96 points or 0.89 percent to finish at 42,581.78, while the NASDAQ rallied 183.56 points or 0.94 percent to close at 19,630.97 and the S&P 500 climbed 57.33 points or 0.96 percent to end at 6,025.17.

The late rally came as Federal Reserve Vice Chair Michelle Bowman indicated support for a rate cut as early as July, citing concerns about the job market and potential easing of inflationary pressures related to tariffs. Additionally, reports of potential tariff reductions between the U.S. and China helped ease market anxieties.

The major averages had opened lower and hugged the unchanged line for much of the day as investors waited for Iran's response to the weekend U.S. air strikes on its nuclear sites.

In economic news, the National Association of Realtors said that existing home sales rose 0.8 percent on month in May and saw a 6.2 percent increase in unsold inventory. On a yearly basis, existing home sales fell 0.7 percent.

Crude oil prices were on a roller coaster ride on Monday, moving sharply higher earlier in the day in response to the U.S. bombing attack in Iran. But as it looks like Iran won't try to block the straight of Hormuz, prices plummeted later in the day. West Texas Intermediate crude for August delivery plunged $5.00 of 6.77 percent to $68.84 per barrel. Closer to home, Taiwan will provide Maya numbers for industrial production later today; in April, production surged 22.31 percent on year.