Profit Taking Anticipated For Taiwan Shares

(RTTNews) - The Taiwan stock market has finished higher in four straight sessions, jumping more than 650 points or 5.2 percent along the way. The Taiwan Stock Exchange now rests just beneath the 13,640-point plateau although it's due for consolidation on Thursday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets suggests consolidation ahead of key inflation data and on U.S. political uncertainty. The European and U.S. markets were down and the Asian bourses figure to follow that lead.

The TSE finished sharply higher on Wednesday following gains from the technology, plastic and cement stocks, while the financials were mixed.

For the day, the index surged 291.05 points or 2.18 percent to finish at the daily high of 13,638.81 after moving as low as 13,410.19.

Among the actives, Cathay Financial increased 1.13 percent, while Mega Financial rose 0.33 percent, CTBC Financial retreated 1.62 percent, Fubon Financial improved 0.94 percent, First Financial collected 0.80 percent, E Sun Financial eased 0.21 percent, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company soared 4.51 percent, United Microelectronics Corporation spiked 3.24 percent, Hon Hai Precision rallied 2.50 percent, Largan Precision climbed 1.30 percent, Catcher Technology advanced 1.15 percent, MediaTek surged 4.84 percent, Novatek Microelectronics skyrocketed 9.83 percent, Formosa Plastics gained 0.58 percent, Nan Ya Plastics perked 0.28 percent, Asia Cement strengthened 1.45 percent, Taiwan Cement gathered 0.79 percent and Delta Electronics was unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is broadly negative as the major averages opened modestly lower on Wednesday but saw the losses accelerate as the day progressed, ending at session lows.

The Dow plummeted 646.89 points or 1.95 percent to finish at 32,513.94, while the NASDAQ plunged 263.03 points or 2.48 percent to close at 10,353.17 and the S&P 500 sank 79.54 points or 2.08 percent to end at 3,748.57.

The sharply pullback on Wall Street came as traders cashed in on recent strength in the markets amid lingering uncertainty about the results of the U.S. midterm elections as control of both houses of Congress remains unclear.

Traders may also be moving money out of stocks ahead today's highly anticipated report on consumer price inflation, which could have a significant impact on the outlook for interest rates.

Crude oil prices tumbled Wednesday, weighed down by a jump in crude stockpiles, concerns about the outlook for energy demand and a stronger U.S. dollar. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for December ended lower by $3.08 or 3.5 percent at $85.83 a barrel, falling for the third consecutive session.