Tech Shares Figure To Weigh On Taiwan Stock Market

(RTTNews) - The Taiwan stock market headed south again on Tuesday, one day after ending the four-day losing streak in which it had retreated more than 360 points or 2.4 percent. The Taiwan Stock Exchange now rests just above the 15,370-point plateau and it may take further damage on Wednesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is mixed to lower on renewed concerns over the health of the financial systems. The European markets were mixed and little changed and the U.S. bourses were sharply lower and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.

The TSE finished sharply lower on Tuesday following losses from the financial shares, technology stocks, plastic companies and steel companies.

For the day, the index retreated 256.14 points or 1.64 percent to finish at 15,370.73 after trading between 15,353.22 and 15,639.49.

Among the actives, Cathay Financial eased 0.12 percent, while Mega Financial lost 0.59 percent, CTBC Financial shed 0.45 percent, First Financial fell 0.19 percent, Fubon Financial dropped 1.03 percent, E Sun Financial dipped 0.20 percent, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company tumbled 1.78 percent, United Microelectronics Corporation tanked 2.22 percent, Hon Hai Precision shed 0.48 percent, Largan Precision surrendered 1.71 percent, Catcher Technology skidded 1.10 percent, MediaTek plunged 3.85 percent, Delta Electronics declined 1.82 percent, Novatek Microelectronics plummeted 6.73 percent, Formosa Plastics slumped 1.08 percent, Nan Ya Plastics slid 0.77 percent, Asia Cement rose 0.11 percent, Taiwan Cement stumbled 2.65 percent and China Steel sank 1.00 percent.

The lead from Wall Street is broadly negative as the major averages opened slightly lower on Tuesday but accelerated deeper into the red as the day progressed, ending near session lows.

The Dow plunged 344.57 points or 1.02 percent to finish at 33,530.83, while the NASDAQ tumbled 238.05 points or 1.98 percent to close at 11,799.16 and the S&P 500 sank 65.4 points or 1.58 percent to end at 4,071.63.

The sell-off on Wall Street reflected a negative reaction to quarterly results from First Republic (FRC), with the regional bank plunging by 49.4 percent. The steep drop came after the company reported a loss of more than $100 billion in deposits in the first quarter, renewing concerns about turmoil in the banking sector.

Results for UPS Inc. (UPS) also disappointed, while General Motors (GM), PepsiCo (PEP), McDonald's (MCD) and 3M (MMM) reported better than expected quarterly earnings.

In economic news, the Conference Board reported that consumer confidence deteriorated more than expected in April. Also, the Commerce Department said new home sales unexpectedly spiked to their highest level in a year in March.

Oil prices fell sharply on Tuesday amid concerns over the outlook for energy demand due to fears of a global economic slowdown, while the dollar's rise weighed as well. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for June ended lower by $1.69 or 2.2 percent to $77.07 per barrel.