Taiwan Stock Market Due For Support On Tuesday

(RTTNews) - The Taiwan stock market has finished lower in three straight sessions, slumping more than 70 points or 0.5 percent along the way. The Taiwan Stock Exchange now rests just beneath the 15,550-point plateau although it figures to stop the bleeding on Tuesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is positive on optimism over the outlook for interest rates. The European and U.S. markets finished firmly higher and the Asian bourses are expected to open in similar fashion. The TSE finished modestly lower on Monday as losses from the technology stocks were mitigated by support from the financial and plastic sectors. For the day, the index fell 42.37 points or 0.27 percent to finish at 15,544.28 after trading between 15,465.56 and 15,569.99. Among the actives, Cathay Financial collected 0.59 percent, while Mega Financial soared 2.15 percent, CTBC Financial strengthened 1.34 percent, Fubon Financial climbed 1.02 percent, First Financial advanced 0.95 percent, E Sun Financial rallied 2.02 percent, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company sank 0.73 percent, United Microelectronics Corporation tanked 2.07 percent, Hon Hai Precision shed 0.49 percent, Largan Precision tumbled 2.00 percent, Catcher Technology slid 0.27 percent, MediaTek retreated 1.22 percent, Novatek Microelectronics dropped 0.78 percent, Formosa Plastics perked 0.22 percent, Nan Ya Plastics improved 1.21 percent, Asia Cement dipped 0.24 percent, Taiwan Cement added 0.41 percent and Delta Electronics was unchanged. The lead from Wall Street is upbeat as the major averages opened higher on Monday and accelerated as the day progressed, ending near session highs. The Dow jumped 376.66 points or 1.11 percent to finish at 34,245.93, while the NASDAQ spiked 173.67 points or 1.48 percent and the S&P 500 rallied 46.83 points or 1.14 percent to end at 4,137.29.

The strength on Wall Street came as some traders looked to pick up stocks at reduced levels after last week's weakness, which reflected ongoing concerns about the outlook for interest rates.

Trading remained subdued, however, as traders look ahead to Tuesday's closely watched report on consumer price inflation. The inflation data could have a significant impact on the outlook for interest rates amid recent speculation the Federal Reserve may raise rates higher than anticipated.

Crude oil prices slumped on Monday afternoon, unable to held early gains. West Texas Intermediate was down $0.43 or 0.54 percent to $79.29 per barrel, coming off a high of $80.62 earlier in the day.