Taiwan Stock Market May See Continued Consolidation

(RTTNews) - The Taiwan stock market has finished lower in two straight sessions, crashing more than 2,950 points or 6.5 percent in that span. The Taiwan Stock Exchange sits just above the 42,670-point plateau and it may extend its losses on Monday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is soft on tech weakness, rising oil prices and Middle East concerns. The European markets were mixed and the U.S. bourses were down and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.

The TSE finished with huge losses on Friday with damage across the board; the technology companies suffered heavy damage, while the financials also were well under water.

For the day, the index plummeted 2,953.71 points or 6.47 percent to finish at the daily low of 42,671.27 after peaking at 45,234.08.

The lead from Wall Street is negative as the major averages opened under water and spent the entire session in the red, ending near session lows.

The Dow slumped 406.55 points or 0.77 percent to finish at 52,146.42, while the NASDAQ tumbled 361.70 points or 1.40 percent to close at 25,520.24 and the S&P 500 sank 76.08 points or 1.01 percent to end at 7,457.69.

For the week, the NASDAQ plunged 2.9 percent, the S&P 500 dove 1.6 percent and the Dow sank 0.9 percent.

The early weakness on Wall Street came as technology stocks extended Thursday's losses, led by a 7.3 percent drop by shares of Netflix (NFLX) after the stream giant reported Q2 results in line with estimates but offered disappointing guidance.

But the weakness spread to the broader markets as the day progressed amid a sharp increase by the price of crude oil, which surged well above $80 a barrel amid concerns about the escalating conflict in the Middle East.

Crude oil prices surged on Friday as the U.S.-Iran conflict grows wider, with the U.S. targeting Iran civil infrastructures. West Texas Intermediate crude for August delivery was up $3.65 or 4.62 percent at $82.60 per barrel.