Taiwan Shares May Find Traction On Wednesday

(RTTNews) - The Taiwan stock market has finished lower in two straight sessions, sinking more than 660 points or 2.4 percent along the way. The Taiwan Stock Exchange now sits just above the 27,530-point plateau although it may stop the bleeding on Wednesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets offers little clarity, although any lack of general support should be limited by support from the technology shares. The European markets were soft and the U.S. bourses were mixed and little changed and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.

The TSE finished sharply lower on Tuesday following losses from the plastic and cement sectors, while the financials and technology companies were mixed.

For the day, the index slumped 330.28 points or 1.19 percent to finish at 27,536.66 after trading between 27,355.67 and 27,740.66.

Among the actives, Cathay Financial perked 0.14 percent, while Mega Financial tanked 2.65 percent, CTBC Financial slipped 0.21 percent, First Financial rallied 1.40 percent, Fubon Financial collected 0.42 percent, E Sun Financial eased 0.15 percent, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company skidded 1.03 percent, United Microelectronics Corporation improved 0.72 percent, Hon Hai Precision tumbled 1.58 percent, Largan Precision slumped 1.22 percent, Catcher Technology climbed 1.08 percent, Delta Electronics stumbled 2.28 percent, Novatek Microelectronics advanced 0.94 percent, Formosa Plastics plunged 1.83 percent, Nan Ya Plastics cratered 3.80 percent, Asia Cement plummeted 4.18 percent and MediaTek was unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is weak as the major averages hugged the line from below for most of the day, although the NASDAQ managed to break into the green.

The Dow slumped 302.30 points or 0.62 percent to finish at 48,114.26, while the NASDAQ added 54.05 points or 0.23 percent to close at 23,111.46 and the S&P 500 slipped 16.25 points or 0.24 percent to end at 6,800.26.

The choppy trading on Wall Street followed the release of the Labor Department's report on employment in November.

Most economists said the data has increased the likelihood the Federal Reserve will continue cutting interest rates in the near future, but the report also raised concerns about the strength of the economy.

A separate report released by the Commerce Department showed retail sales in the U.S. were roughly flat in October.

Crude oil prices extended recent losses Tuesday on lingering oversupply concerns, especially if an end to hostilities between Russia and Ukraine could exacerbate the supply glut. West Texas Intermediate crude for January delivery was down $1.57 or 2.8 percent to $55.25 per barrel.