Losing Streak May Continue For Taiwan Stock Market

(RTTNews) - The Taiwan stock market has moved lower in two straight sessions, sinking almost 150 points or 1.1 percent along the way. The Taiwan Stock Exchange now rests just above the 14,800-point plateau and it may take further damage on Wednesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is negative, with weakness expected especially from the oil and technology stocks ahead of the FOMC rate decision later today. The European and U.S. markets were down and the Asian markets are predicted to follow that lead.

The TSE finished modestly lower on Tuesday following losses from the cement and technology sectors, while the financials were mixed.

For the day, the index sank 129.55 points or 0.87 percent to finish at 14,806.78 after trading between 14,750.71 and 14,912.41.

Among the actives, Cathay Financial rose 0.11 percent, while Mega Financial collected 0.44 percent, CTBC Financial climbed 1.10 percent, First Financial lost 0.38 percent, E Sun Financial perked 0.17 percent, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company dropped 0.90 percent, United Microelectronics Corporation plunged 4.69 percent, Hon Hai Precision added 0.47 percent, Largan Precision dipped 0.26 percent, Catcher Technology declined 1.19 percent, MediaTek skidded 1.02 percent, Delta Electronics shed 0.60 percent, Nan Ya Plastics gathered 0.15 percent, Asia Cement sank 0.56 percent, Taiwan Cement eased 0.13 percent and Fubon Financial and Formosa Plastics were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is soft as the major averages opened lower on Tuesday and remained in the red throughout the day, ending near session lows.

The Dow tumbled 228.50 points or 0.71 percent to finish at 31,761.54, while the NASDAQ plunged 220.09 points or 1.87 percent to close at 11,562.57 and the S&P 500 dropped 45.79 points or 1.15 percent to end at 3,921.05.

The weakness on Wall Street also came as traders looked ahead to the Federal Reserve's monetary policy announcement later today. The Fed is widely expected to announce another 75 basis point rate hike as part of its efforts to combat elevated inflation.

In corporate news, Walmart came under pressure after lowering its guidance for the second quarter and full year due to pricing actions aimed to improve inventory levels. Auto giant General Motors (GM) also moved to the downside after reporting Q2 earnings that missed estimates.

In U.S. economic news, the Commerce Department said new home sales pulled back by more than expected in June. Also, the Conference Board said consumer confidence in the U.S. deteriorated by more than expected in of July.

Crude oil prices fell on Tuesday, weighed by an announcement from the Biden administration about more sales from the national oil reserve to fight inflation at the pump. The dollar's rebound from recent losses also contributed the drop in oil prices. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for September ended lower by $1.72 or 1.8 percent at $94.98 a barrel.

Closer to home, Taiwan will see July results for its consumer confidence index later today; in June, the index score was 64.14.