Taiwan Stock Market May Find Traction On Thursday

(RTTNews) - The Taiwan stock market has finished lower in back-t0-back sessions, slumping more than 100 points or 0.6 percent along the way. The Taiwan Stock Exchange now sits just above the 17,465-point plateau although it's due for support on Thursday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is cautiously ahead of key U.S. inflation data later this week, which will affect the outlook for interest rates. The European markets were mixed and the U.S. bourses were up and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.

The TSE finished modestly lower on Wednesday following losses from the financials, technology stocks, plastic companies and cement shares.

For the day, the index lost 69.86 points or 0.40 percent to finish at 17,465.63 after trading between 17,439.27 and 17,499.43.

Among the actives, Cathay Financial eased 0.11 percent, while Mega Financial and Catcher Technology both dipped 0.25 percent, CTBC Financial slid 0.18 percent, First Financial lost 0.55 percent, E Sun Financial was down 0.39 percent, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company fell 0.34 percent, Hon Hai Precision dropped 0.99 percent, Largan Precision tumbled 1.94 percent, MediaTek shed 0.43 percent, Delta Electronics retreated 1.52 percent, Novatek Microelectronics added 0.40 percent, Formosa Plastics slumped 0.77 percent, Nan Ya Plastics dropped 0.92 percent, Asia Cement sank 0.73 percent, Taiwan Cement skidded 1.03 percent, China Steel declined 0.58 percent and United Microelectronics Corporation and Fubon Financial were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is positive as the major averages opened slightly higher on Wednesday and accelerated throughout the session.

The Dow jumped 170.57 points or 0.45 percent to finish at 37,695.73, while the NASDAQ rallied 111.94 points or 0.75 percent to end at 14,969.65 and the S&P 500 gained 26.95 points or 0.57 percent to close at 4,783.45.

The strength on Wall Street may have reflected optimism ahead of the release of key U.S. inflation data in the comings days.

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

With economists expecting the reports to show slowdowns in the annual rate of core price growth, the data could bolster optimism about near-term rate cuts by the Federal Reserve.

Crude oil prices dropped on Wednesday after data showed an unexpected increase in U.S. crude inventories. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for February delivery ended down $0.87 at $71.37 a barrel.