Renewed Consolidation Likely For Taiwan Stock Market

(RTTNews) - The Taiwan stock market bounced higher again on Tuesday, one day after ending the two-day winning streak in which it had advanced more than 130 points or 0.7 percent. The Taiwan Stock Exchange now rests just above the 17,210-point plateau although it figures to head south again on Wednesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is negative, with oil and technology stocks likely to lead the way lower. The European markets were down and the U.S. bourses were mixed and little changed and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.

The TSE finished modestly higher on Tuesday following gains from the financial shares, plastics and technology stocks.

For the day, the index gained 67.44 points or 0.39 percent to finish at 17,212.87 after trading between 17,095.86 and 17,252.32.

Among the actives, Cathay Financial rallied 3.28 percent, while Mega Financial improved 0.87 percent, First Financial collected 0.69 percent, Fubon Financial strengthened 1.53 percent, E Sun Financial gained 0.39 percent, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company rose 0.35 percent, Hon Hai Precision jumped 1.84 percent, Largan Precision added 0.69 percent, Catcher Technology and Nan Ya Plastics both advanced 0.86 percent, MediaTek soared 3.33 percent, Delta Electronics spiked 1.92 percent, Novatek Microelectronics surged 3.07 percent, Formosa Plastics climbed 1.20 percent, Asia Cement sank 0.74 percent, Taiwan Cement gathered 0.67 percent, China Steel increased 0.72 percent and United Microelectronics Corporation and CTBC Financial were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is weak as the major averages opened mixed on Tuesday and finished the same way.

The Dow advanced 71.15 points or 0.20 percent to finish at 35,630.68, while the NASDAQ sank 62.11 points or 0.43 percent to close at 14,283.91 and the S&P 500 fell 12.23 points or 0.27 percent to end at 4,576.73.

The modest weakness on Wall Street may partly have reflected profit taking, as some traders looked to cash in on the strong gains posted last month.

Overall trading activity remained somewhat subdued, however, as traders continued to look ahead to Friday's closely watched monthly jobs report.

In U.S. economic news, the Institute for Supply Management said U.S. manufacturing activity contracted for the ninth consecutive month in July. Also, the Commerce Department said construction spending rose slightly less than expected in June.

Crude oil futures ended lower on Tuesday thanks to a firm dollar and data showing a slowdown in global manufacturing activity. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for September ended lower by $0.43 at $81.37 a barrel.