Taiwan Stock Market Due For Profit Taking

(RTTNews) - The Taiwan stock market has finished higher in four straight sessions, rallying almost 2,850 points or 8.9 percent in that span. The Taiwan Stock Exchange now sits just above the 35,400-point plateau although investors are likely to lock in gains on Monday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is soft thanks to renewed tensions in the Middle East. The European and U.S. markets were mixed to lower and the Asian bourses are also expected to open under pressure.

The TSE finished sharply higher on Friday following gains from the technology stocks, while the financials were weak.

For the day, the index jumped 556.67 points or 1.60 percent to finish at 35,417.83 after trading 34,950.87.

Among the actives, Cathay Financial dipped 0.16 percent, while Mega Financial and Hon Hai Precision both rose 0.25 percent, CTBC Financial retreated 1.46 percent, First Financial tumbled 1.72 percent, Fubon Financial skidded 1.02 percent, E Sun Financial lost 1.07 percent, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company rallied 2.30 percent, United Microelectronics Corporation spiked 3.33 percent, Largan Precision vaulted 1.32 percent, Delta Electronics surged 5.47 percent, Novatek Microelectronics slumped 1.38 percent, Formosa Plastics dropped 0.95 percent, Nan Ya Plastics plummeted 4.23 percent, Asia Cement sank 0.70 percent and Catcher Technology and MediaTek were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is weak as the major averages opened mixed on Friday and largely hugged the line throughout the trading day before ending little changed and on opposite sides.

The Dow dropped 269.23 points or 0.56 percent to finish at 47,916.57, while the NASDAQ gained 80.49 points or 0.35 percent to close at 22,902.89 and the S&P 500 slipped 7.77 points or 0.11 percent to end at 6,816.89.

For the week, the NASDAQ spiked 4.7 percent, the S&P rallied 3.6 percent and the Dow jumped 3.0 percent.

The lackluster performance by the broader markets came amid lingering about whether the fragile ceasefire in the Middle East will hold; peace negotiations over the weekend also failed to produce a result.

In economic news, the University of Michigan noted a significant deterioration in U.S. consumer sentiment in April. Also, the Labor Department showed consumer prices advanced by 0.9 percent in March, in line with estimates.

Crude oil prices slumped Friday despite persistent tensions surrounding the Strait of Hormuz. West Texas Intermediate crude for May delivery was down $1.15 or 1.18 percent at $96.72 per barrel.