Taiwan Bourse May Give Up Support At 16,000 Points

(RTTNews) - The Taiwan stock market on Thursday ended the two-day winning streak in which it had added more than 100 points or 0.6 percent. The Taiwan Stock Exchange now sits just beneath the 16,075-point plateau and it's looking at another soft lead again on Friday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is negative as disappointing earnings news and concerns over the outlook for interest rates. The European and U.S. markets were down and the Asian markets figure to open in similar fashion.

The TSE finished sharply lower on Thursday with losses in all sectors, especially the financial and technology companies.

For the day, the index plunged 285.15 points or 1.74 percent to finish at the daily low of 16,073.74 after peaking at 16,305.16.

Among the actives, Cathay Financial dropped 0.68 percent, while Mega Financial and CTBC Financial both retreated 1.22 percent, First Financial fell 0.39 percent, Fubon Financial sank 0.67 percent, E Sun Financial was down 0.63 percent, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company tanked 2.39 percent, United Microelectronics Corporation plunged 4.59 percent, Hon Hai Precision shed 0.51 percent, Largan Precision dipped 0.25 percent, Catcher Technology eased 0.27 percent, MediaTek lost 0.61 percent, Delta Electronics surrendered 2.45 percent, Novatek Microelectronics declined 1.38 percent, Formosa Plastics slumped 0.90 percent, Nan Ya Plastics skidded 0.95 percent, Asia Cement added 0.39 percent, Taiwan Cement slid 0.32 percent and China Steel stumbled 1.43 percent.

The lead from Wall Street is bleak as the major averages opened mixed on Thursday but quickly turned lower and finished at session lows.

The Dow dropped 251.63 points or 0.76 percent to finish at 32,784.30, while the NASDAQ stumbled 225.62 points or 1.76 percent to close at 12,595.61 and the S&O 500 sank 49.54 points or 1.18 percent to end at 4,137.23.

The weakness on Wall Street followed the release of a slew of largely upbeat U.S. economic data, including a Commerce Department report showing GDP soared by more than expected in the third quarter of 2023.

The resilience of the U.S. economy added to recent concerns about the Federal Reserve leaving interest rates higher for longer than investors had hoped.

In other economic news, the Commerce Department said new orders for U.S. manufactured durable goods spiked more than expected in September. Also, the Labor Department said first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits edged higher last week.

Oil prices fell to a two-week low on Thursday as diplomatic efforts to stop Israel from a ground invasion of Gaza helped ease concerns about oil supplies. Recent data showing a surge in U.S. crude inventories, and concerns about interest rates also weighed on oil prices. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for December sank $2.18 or 2.6 percent at $83.21 a barrel.