Tech Shares Poised To Lift Taiwan Stock Market

(RTTNews) - The Taiwan stock market has moved lower in three straight sessions, plunging almost 3,000 points or 6.7 percent along the way. The Taiwan Stock Exchange now sits just above the 43,500-point plateau although it may find renewed support on Tuesday. The global forecast for the Asian markets is cautiously optimistic on bargain hunting, with support expected especially among the technology and oil sectors. The European markets were soft and the U.S. bourse were mostly higher and the Asian markets figure to follow the latter lead. The TSE finished sharply lower on Monday with damage across the board, especially among the technology companies. For the day, the index tumbled 1,568.16 points or 3.48 percent to finish at 43,502.78 after trading between 42,376.86 and 44,507.49. Among the actives, Cathay Financial stumbled 5.00 percent, while Mega Financial slipped 1.79 percent, CTBC Financial skidded 1.80 percent, First Financial dipped 0.68 percent, Fubon Financial retreated 1.69 percent, E Sun Financial contracted 1.35 percent, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company gave up 2.96 percent, United Microelectronics Corporation cratered 7.98 percent, Hon Hai Precision slumped 5.27 percent, Largan Precision dropped 3.94 percent, Catcher Technology tumbled 4.56 percent, MediaTek tanked 5.35 percent, Delta Electronics lost 1.96 percent, Novatek Microelectronics shed 3.86 percent, Formosa Plastics cratered 6.24 percent, Nan Ya Plastics plunged 6.70 percent and Asia Cement fell 1.89 percent. The lead from Wall Street suggests mild upside as the major averages opened higher on Monday but faded as the day progressed, with the Dow slipping into the red.

The Dow shed 80.77 points or 0.16 percent to finish at 50,786.01, while the NASDAQ jumped 220.23 points or 0.86 percent to close at 25,929.66 and the S&P 500 added 21.99 points or 0.30 percent to end at 7,405.73.

The rebound on Wall Street comes amid bargain hunting following last Friday's plunge, which dragged the tech-heavy NASDAQ down to its lowest closing level in a month.

The upside may be limited by growing concerns about the outlook for interest rates, as last week's robust U.S. jobs report led traders to ramp up bets on a Federal Reserve rate hike this year.

Crude oil prices edged higher on Monday as delays in the reopening the Strait of Hormuz persists. West Texas Intermediate crude for July delivery was up $0.52 or 0.57 percent at $91.06 per barrel. Closer to home, Taiwan will provide May data for imports, exports and trade balance later today. Imports are expected to jump 37.4 percent on year, up from 29.2 percent in April. Exports are called higher by an annual 37.9 percent, easing from 39.0 percent in the previous month. The trade surplus is pegged at $15.20 billion, up from $14.35 billion a month earlier.