Taiwan Bourse May Hand Back Monday's Gains

(RTTNews) - The Taiwan stock market bounced higher again on Monday, one session after ending the two-day winning streak in which it had gained more than 600 points or 2.6 percent. The Taiwan Stock Exchange now rests just above the 24,275-point plateau although it's expected to open to the downside on Tuesday. The global forecast for the Asian markets is soft, with profit-taking likely on the menu. The European markets were mixed and the U.S. bourses were down and the Asian markets are also expected to open under water. For the day, the index surged 512.91 points or 2.16 points to finish at 24,277.38 after trading between 24,108.75 and 24,362.02. Among the actives, Mega Financial and United Microelectronics Corporation both eased 0.12 percent, while Fubon Financial jumped 1.93 percent, E Sun Financial and Formosa Plastics both sank 0.74 percent, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company accelerated 3.08 percent, Hon Hai Precision rallied 2.47 percent, Largan Precision added 0.42 percent, MediaTek soared 3.30 percent, Novatek Microelectronics climbed 1.18 percent, Nan Ya Plastics surged 3.53 percent, Asia Cement gained 0.40 percent and Cathay Financial, CTBC Financial and Catcher Technology were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is weak as the major averages opened lower on Monday and spent most of the day under water, finishing near daily lows.

The Dow stumbled 349.27 points or 0.77 percent to finish at 45,282.47, while the NASDAQ sank 47.24 points or 0.22 percent to close at 21,449.29 and the S&P 500 lost 27.59 points or 0.43 percent to end at 6,439.32.

Profit taking contributed to the initial weakness on Wall Street, as some traders looked to cash in on the strong gains posted last Friday, which lifted the Dow to a new record closing high.

The rally seen during last Friday's session came as remarks from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell seemed to indicate the central bank is likely to lower interest rates next month.

On the U.S. economic front, the Commerce Department released a repot this morning showing new home sales in the U.S. decreased from an upwardly revised level in July.

Crude oil jumped on Monday, on concerns that Western sanctions on Russian oil exports may continue longer than anticipated. West Texas Intermediate crude for October delivery was up $1.20 or 1.89 percent at $64.86 per barrel.

Closer to home, Taiwan will release July numbers for industrial production later today; in June, output jumped 18.65 percent on year.