Taiwan Stock Market Due For Profit Taking On Wednesday

(RTTNews) - The Taiwan stock market has moved higher in four straight sessions, improving more than 170 points or 1.1 percent along the way. The Taiwan Stock Exchange now rests just above the 15,725-point plateau although investors figure to cash in on Wednesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets suggests mild consolidation ahead of key inflation data later in the day. The European markets were mixed and the U.S. bourses were slightly lower and the Asian markets figure to open in similar fashion.

The TSE finished slightly higher on Tuesday following gains from the financials, mixed performances from the technology stocks and weakness from the cement companies.

For the day, the index rose 28.13 points or 0.18 percent to finish at 15,727.70 after trading between 15,635.90 and 15,744.27.

Among the actives, Cathay Financial climbed 1.05 percent, while Mega Financial collected 0.58 percent, CTBC Financial slid 0.21 percent, First Financial added 0.55 percent, Fubon Financial was up 0.17 percent, E Sun Financial gained 0.40 percent, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company climbed 1.19 percent, United Microelectronics Corporation dipped 0.10 percent, Hon Hai Precision strengthened 1.43 percent, Largan Precision improved 0.75 percent, Catcher Technology rose 0.27 percent, MediaTek rose 0.30 percent, Delta Electronics shed 0.49 percent, Novatek Microelectronics plunged 2.80 percent, Formosa Plastics gained 0.21 percent, Nan Ya Plastics advanced 1.03 percent, Asia Cement eased 0.11 percent, Taiwan Cement tumbled 2.40 percent and China Steel perked 0.17 percent.

The lead from Wall Street is soft as the major averages opened lower on Tuesday and spent most of the session in the red, finishing with modest losses.

The Dow shed 56.88 points or 0.17 percent to finish at 33,561.81, while the NASDAQ dropped 77.37 points or 0.63 percent to close at 12,179.55 and the S&P 500 sank 18.95 points or 0.46 percent to end at 4,119.17.

The weakness on Wall Street came as traders continued to move money out of relatively risky assets like stocks ahead of the release of key inflation data later today.

The reports on consumer and producer price inflation, which are due to be released on Wednesday and Thursday, respectively, could have a significant impact on the outlook for interest rates.

The weakness on Wall Street may also have reflected concerns about the debt ceiling ahead of a meeting between President Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif. that could result in default if not addressed.

Crude oil prices shook off early weakness to finish higher amid expectations of higher seasonal demand and on the U.S. government's plans to refill the emergency oil reserve. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for June settled at $73.71 a barrel, gaining $0.55 or 0.8 percent.