Technology Shares May Propel Taiwan Stock Market

(RTTNews) - The Taiwan stock market on Tuesday ended the three-day winning streak in which it had climbed more than 3,650 points or 9.1 percent. The Taiwan Stock Exchange now sits just above the 43,525-point plateau and it's expected to open to the upside on Wednesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is mixed to higher, thanks to support from technology stocks and easing crude oil prices. The European and U.S. markets were mixed and the Asian bourses are expected to follow suit.

The TSE finished modestly lower on Tuesday following mixed performances from the financial shares, technology stocks and plastics companies.

For the day, the index dropped 119.03 points or 0.27 percent to finish at 43,525.37 after trading between 43,349.77 and 44,097.63.

Among the actives, Cathay Financial jumped 1.96 percent, while Mega Financial fell 0.25 percent, CTBC Financial dipped 0.16 percent, First Financial collected 0.36 percent, Fubon Financial soared 5.94 percent, E Sun Financial improved 0.81 percent, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company tumbled 1.73 percent, United Microelectronics Corporation rallied 4.04 percent, Hon Hai Precision sank 0.77 percent, Largan Precision plunged 4.68 percent, Catcher Technology spiked 4.56 percent, MediaTek added 0.47 percent, Delta Electronics jumped 2.62 percent, Novatek Microelectronics gained 0.51 percent, Formosa Plastics eased 0.11 percent, Nan Ya Plastics vaulted 4.25 percent and Asia Cement dropped 1.04 percent.

The lead from Wall Street lacks clarity as the major averages opened higher, although the Dow quickly fell into the red and stayed that was for the balance of the session.

The Dow slumped 118.02 points or 0.23 percent to finish at 50,461.68, while the NASDAQ jumped 312.21 points or 1.19 percent to close at 26,656.18 and the S&P 500 gained 45.65 points or 0.61 percent to end at 7,519.12.

The jump by the tech-heavy NASDAQ came amid a sharp increase by shares of Micron Technology (MU) after UBS dramatically increased its price target on the company's stock.

Semiconductor stocks showed a substantial move to the upside, driving the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index up by 5.5 percent to a record closing high. Considerable strength was also visible among airline stocks,

In U.S. economic news, a report released by the Conference Board showed a modest deterioration in consumer confidence in the month of May.

Crude oil prices tumbled on Tuesday on optimism that a U.S.-Iran peace deal could soon lead to the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz. West Texas Intermediate crude for July delivery was down $2.72 or 2.82 percent at $93.88 per barrel.