Taiwan Stock Market May Spin Its Wheels On Friday

(RTTNews) - The Taiwan stock market has finished lower in consecutive trading days, surrendering more than 210 points or 1.4 percent along the way. The Taiwan Stock Exchange now rests just above the 15,510-point plateau and it may be stuck in neutral again on Friday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is mixed to lower on concerns of economic slowdown. The European and U.S. markets ended mostly lower and the Asian bourses figure to follow suit.

The TSE finished modestly lower on Thursday following losses from the plastic, steel, cement and technology sectors, while the financials were mixed.

For the day, the index sank 127.12 points or 0.81 percent to finish at 15,514.64 after trading between 15,501.58 and 15,675.37.

Among the actives, Cathay Financial jumped 1.51 percent, while Fubon Financial collected 0.51 percent, E Sun Financial dipped 0.20 percent, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company sank 0.80 percent, United Microelectronics Corporation shed 0.51 percent, Hon Hai Precision retreated 1.41 percent, Largan Precision rallied 2.47 percent, Delta Electronics declined 1.49 percent, Novatek Microelectronics tumbled 2.00 percent, Formosa Plastics fell 0.43 percent, Nan Ya Plastics perked 0.26 percent, Asia Cement and China Steel both lost 0.68 percent, Taiwan Cement stumbled 1.67 percent and MediaTek, Catcher Technology, Mega Financial, CTBC Financial and First Financial were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is uninspired as the major averages opened lower on Thursday and only the NASDAQ was able to peek slightly into the green by the end of the session.

The Dow tumbled 221.82 points or 0.66 percent to finish at 33,309.51, while the NASDAQ rose 22.07 points or 0.18 percent to close at 12,328.51 and the S&P 500 slipped 7.02 points or 0.17 percent to end at 4,130.62.

The weakness on Wall Street came among disappointing earnings news from the likes of Disney (DIS), while renewed concerns about turmoil in the banking sector also weighed.

In economic news, the Labor Department said its producer price index for final demand rose less than expected, adding to optimism the Federal Reserve will leave interest rates unchanged next month.

The Labor Department also said that initial jobless claims climbed to their highest level in well over a year last week.

Crude oil prices fell sharply on Thursday amid uncertainty about the outlook for energy demand, while a firm dollar also weighed. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for June ended lower by $1.69 or 2.3 percent at $70.87 a barrel.