Taiwan Stock Market May Extend Losing Streak

(RTTNews) - The Taiwan stock market has moved lower in back-to-back sessions, sinking more than 225 points or 1.6 percent along the way. The Taiwan Stock Exchange now rests just above the 16,870-point plateau and it may take further damage on Thursday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is murky ahead of key inflation data from the United States. The European markets were up and the U.S. bourses were down and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.

The TSE finished slightly lower on Wednesday following mixed performances from the financial shares, technology stocks and cement companies.

For the day, the index eased 6.13 points or 0.04 percent to finish at 16,870.94 after trading between 16,798.50 and 16,956.73.

Among the actives, Cathay Financial retreated 1.28 percent, while Mega Financial collected 0.63 percent, CTBC Financial advanced 0.81 percent, First Financial climbed 1.04 percent, Fubon Financial was up 0.15 percent, E Sun Financial improved 1.17 percent, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company added 0.36 percent, United Microelectronics Corporation perked 0.11 percent, Largan Precision rose 0.23 percent, Catcher Technology gained 0.57 percent, MediaTek jumped 1.59 percent, Delta Electronics dropped 0.83 percent, Novatek Microelectronics plunged 4.91 percent, Formosa Plastics improved 0.72 percent, Nan Ya Plastics rallied 1.30 percent, Asia Cement dipped 0.25 percent, Taiwan Cement gathered 0.13 percent, China Steel fell 0.35 percent and Hon Hai Precision was unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is negative as the major averages opened flat on Wednesday before heading south shortly thereafter; they made back some ground as the day progressed but still finished solidly in the red.

The Dow stumbled 191.13 points or 0.54 percent to finish at 35,123.36, while the NASDAQ dropped 162.31 points or 1.17 percent to close at 13.722.02 and the S&P 500 sank 31.67 points or 0.70 percent to end at 4,467.71.

The lower close on Wall Street came as traders remained cautious ahead of the release of a key report on consumer price inflation later today.

Traders will be looking for the report to reinforce expectations that the Federal Reserve will leave interest rates unchanged next month; CME Group's FedWatch Tool is currently indicating an 86.5 percent chance the Fed will keep rates steady in September.

Crude oil prices moved higher on Wednesday, extending recent gains as output cuts by Saudi Arabia and Russia continued to raise concerns about supply. West Texas Intermediate crude for September delivery jumped $1.48 pr 1.8 percent to $84.40 a barrel.