Lower Open Called For Taiwan Stock Market

(RTTNews) - The Taiwan stock market has moved lower in two straight sessions, surrendering almost 1,400 points or 3.1 percent along the way. The Taiwan Stock Exchange now sits just above the 45,070-point plateau and it's expected to see continued consolidation on Monday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is broadly negative with heavy pressure likely among technology companies. The European and U.S. markets were down and the Asian bourses are expected to follow that lead.

The TSE finished sharply lower on Friday following losses from the financial shares, technology stocks and plastics companies.

For the day, the index tumbled 606.56 points or 1.33 percent to finish at 45,070.94 after trading between 44,209.53 and 45,619.82.

Among the actives, Cathay Financial soared 5.93 percent, while Mega Financial fell 0.36 percent, CTBC Financial tumbled 2.06 percent, First Financial sank 0.85 percent, Fubon Financial rallied 3.51 percent, E Sun Financial slipped 0.30 percent, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company dropped 0.84 percent, United Microelectronics Corporation surged 5.20 percent, Hon Hai Precision stumbled 2.90 percent, Largan Precision tanked 3.79 percent, Catcher Technology plunged 4.75 percent, MediaTek surrendered 2.93 percent, Delta Electronics crashed 5.15 percent, Novatek Microelectronics added 0.61 percent, Formosa Plastics cratered 3.74 percent, Nan Ya Plastics plummeted 5.86 percent and Asia Cement perked 0.15 percent.

The lead from Wall Street is brutal as the major averages opened lower on Friday and accelerated deeper into the red throughout the day, ending at session lows.

The Dow plunged 695.15 points or 1.35 percent to finish at 50,866.78, while the NASDAQ cratered 1,121.53 points or 4.18 percent to close at 25,709.43 and the S&P 500 tumbled 200.57 points or 2.64 percent to end at 7,383.74.

For the week, the NASDAQ plummeted 4.7 percent, the S&P 500 dove 2.9 percent and the Dow dipped 0.3 percent.

The sell-off on Wall Street came as technology stocks remained under pressure amid concerns about valuations.

Profit taking also contributed to the substantial weakness following recent strength in the markets, which lifted them to record closing highs.

A sharp increase by treasury yields also weighed on Wall Street, with yields surging following the release of stronger than expected U.S. jobs data.

Crude oil prices slumped on Friday on optimism that the Strait of Hormuz may re-open in the coming days. West Texas Intermediate crude for July delivery was down $2.97 or 2.97 percent at $90.07 per barrel.