Taiwan Stock Market May Extend Losing Streak

(RTTNews) - The Taiwan stock market has finished lower in two straight sessions, shedding almost 520 points or 2.6 percent along the way. The Taiwan stock market now rests just shy of the 19,340-point plateau and it may take further damage again on Friday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is soft amid lingering uncertainty about U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs. The European and U.S. markets finished mostly lower and the Asian bourses are expected to open in similar fashion.

The TSE finished modestly lower on Thursday following losses from the financial shares, technology stocks and plastics companies.

For the day, the index sank 129.27 points or 0.66 percent to finish at 19,338.73 after trading between 19,196.47 and 19,478.00.

Among the actives, Cathay Financial dipped 0.16 percent, while Mega Financial shed 0.53 percent, CTBC Financial collected 0.79 percent, First Financial lost 0.59 percent, Fubon Financial sank 0.62 percent, E Sun Financial dropped 0.90 percent, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company slumped 0.94 percent, United Microelectronics Corporation tumbled 1.89 percent, Hon Hai Precision skidded 1.10 percent, Largan Precision slid 0.23 percent, Catcher Technology skyrocketed 8.65 percent, MediaTek stumbled 1.83 percent, Delta Electronics retreated 1.56 percent, Formosa Plastics declined 0.84 percent, Nan Ya Plastics weakened 1.28 percent, Asia Cement climbed 1.02 percent and Novatek Microelectronics was unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is weak as the major averages opened mixed on Thursday and finished largely the same way, with a downside bias.

The Doe slumped 527.16 points or 1.33 percent to finish at 39,142.23, while the NASDAQ dipped 20.71 points or 0.13 percent to close at 16,286.45 and the S&P 500 rose 7.00 points or 0.13 percent to end at 5,282.70.

The markets are closed for Good Friday; for the holiday-shortened week, the S&P retreated 1.5 percent, the NASDAQ stumbled 2.6 percent and the Dow declined 2.7 percent.

The steep drop by the Dow reflected a nosedive by shares of UnitedHealth (UNH), which plummeted 22.4 percent after the company reported weaker than expected first quarter earnings and cut its full-year profit forecast.

In economic news, the Labor Department noted a modest decrease by first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits last week. Also, the Commerce Department said new residential construction in the U.S. pulled back much more than expected in March.

Crude oil futures moved sharply higher on Thursday amid ongoing concerns about sanctions on Iranian oil exports. West Texas Intermediate crude for May delivery spiked $2.21 or 3.5 percent to $64.68 a barrel.