Bargain Hunting May Lift Taiwan Stock Market

(RTTNews) - The Taiwan stock market has finished lower in three straight sessions, sinking more than 2,240 points or 5.2 percent along the way. The Taiwan Stock Exchange now sits just above the 41,600-point plateau although it may stop the bleeding on Wednesday. The global forecast for the largely oversold Asian markets is cautiously optimistic on hopes for an end to hostilities in the Middle East. The European markets were up and the U.S. bourses were mixed and the Asian markets figure to move higher on Wednesday.

The TSE finished sharply lower on Tuesday with losses in all sectors, although the technology and plastics companies were hit especially hard.

For the day, the index plunged 2,030.84 points or 4.65 percent to finish at 41,603.36 after trading between 41,565.00 and 43,221.93.

The lead from Wall Street is uncertain as the major averages opened mixed on Tuesday and trended slightly higher but still ended on opposite sides of the unchanged line.

The Dow rallied 537.24 points or 1.03 percent to finish at 52,747.32, while the NASDAQ slumped 55.17 points or 0.22 percent to close at 24,876.91 and the S&P 500 rose 15.60 points or 0.21 percent to end at 7,428.78.

The advance by the Dow was fueled by strong quarterly results from the likes of Sherwin-Williams (SHW) and Coca-Cola (KO), which roundly beat expectations and raised guidance.

Meanwhile, weakness among technology stocks weighed on the NASDAQ, with semiconductor and computer hardware stocks turning in some of the worst performances.

Outside of the tech sector, oil service stocks also saw significant weakness amid the extended nosedive by the price of crude oil.

Crude plunged again on Tuesday amid rising optimism over a resolution to the U.S.-Iran conflict, easing supply disruption concerns. West Texas Intermediate crude for September delivery shed $3.61 or 4.37 percent at $79.00 per barrel.