Taiwan Bourse May Take Further Damage On Wednesday

(RTTNews) - The Taiwan stock market has moved lower in three straight sessions, stumbling more than 150 points or 0.8 percent along the way. The Taiwan Stock Exchange now sits just above the 17,180-point plateau and it's likely in store for more misery on Wednesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is cautious on concerns for the outlook for interest rates. The European and U.S. markets were down and the Asian bourses are tipped to follow suit.

The TSE finished modestly lower on Tuesday following mixed performances from the financials, technology stocks and cement and plastic sectors.

For the day, the index lost 89.65 points or 0.52 percent to finish at 17,184.91 after trading between 17,121.59 and 17,247.16.

Among the actives, Cathay Financial climbed 1.03 percent, while Mega Financial collected 1.22 percent, Fubon Financial fell 0.33 percent, United Microelectronics Corporation dipped 0.19 percent, Largan Precision added 0.47 percent, Catcher Technology jumped 1.60 percent, MediaTek tanked 1.54 percent, Delta Electronics tumbled 1.73 percent, Novatek Microelectronics declined 1.32 percent, Formosa Plastics improved 1.09 percent, Nan Ya Plastics sank 0.63 percent, Asia Cement rose 0.11 percent, Taiwan Cement shed 0.39 percent, China Steel slumped 0.34 percent and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, Hon Hai Precision, CTBC Financial, First Financial and E Sun Financial were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is soft as the major averages opened lower on Tuesday and stayed in the red throughout the session.

The Dow tumbled 245.25 points or 0.72 percent to finish at 34,053.87, while the NASDAQ dipped 22.28 points or 0.16 percent to end at 13,667.29 and the S&P 500 fell 20.88 points or 0.47 percent to close at 4,388.71.

The early weakness on Wall Street came as traders continued to cash in on recent strength in the markets, which lifted the NASADAQ and the S&P 500 to their best levels in over a year last week.

Selling pressure waned over the course of the session, however, as traders look ahead to congressional testimony by Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell later today regarding the outlook for interest rates.

On the U.S. economic front, the Commerce Department said new residential construction in the U.S. unexpectedly skyrocketed in May, while building permits also jumped more than expected.

Crude oil prices fell on Tuesday amid concerns that further tightening by the Federal Reserve and other central banks may impact global economic growth and weighed on oil prices. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for August ended down $0.74 at $71.19 a barrel.