Tech Shares Likely To Weigh On Taiwan Stock Market

(RTTNews) - Ahead of the unscheduled day off because of Typhoon Kong-Rey, the Taiwan stock market had moved lower in three straight sessions, stumbling more than 525 points or 2.5 percent along the way. The Taiwan Stock Exchange now rests just above the 22,820-point plateau and it's expected to open under pressure again on Friday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is broadly negative, with pressure likely among technology stocks amid waning optimism over the outlook for interest rates. The European and U.S. markets finished firmly in the red and the Asian bourses are expected to follow suit.

The TSE finished modestly lower on Wednesday as losses from the technology stocks and plastics were offset by support from the financial sector.

For the day, the index sank 106.16 points or 0.46 percent to finish at 22,820.43 after trading between 22,801.45 and 23,116.33. Among the actives, Cathay Financial added 0.58 percent, while Mega Financial collected 0.51 percent, First Financial perked 0.18 percent, E Sun Financial rose 0.37 percent, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company dropped 0.96 percent, United Microelectronics Corporation shed 0.52 percent, Hon Hai Precision advanced 0.95 percent, Largan Precision lost 0.65 percent, Catcher Technology dipped 0.21 percent, MediaTek sank 0.77 percent, Delta Electronics fell 0.49 percent, Novatek Microelectronics was down 0.20 percent, Formosa Plastics declined 0.84 percent, Nan Ya Plastics slumped 0.36 percent, Asia Cement was up 0.11 percent and Fubon Financial and CTBC Financial were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is bleak as the major averages opened solidly under water and stayed that way throughout the trading day.

The Dow tumbled 378.08 points or 0.90 percent to finish at 41,763.46, while the NASDAQ plummeted 512.78 points or 2.76 percent to close at 18,095.15 and the S&P 500 slumped 108.22 points or 1.86 percent to end at 5,705.45.

The sell-off on Wall Street came amid a negative reaction to earnings news from tech giants Microsoft (MSFT) and Meta Platforms (META).

Traders were also reacting to closely watched consumer price inflation data that largely came in line with economist estimates, although core CPI resisted lower forecasts to remain unchanged. That added to recent concerns the Federal Reserve will lower interest rates more slowly than hoped.

Oil prices climbed higher on Thursday amid expectations of increased demand from the U.S. and a likely delay in OPEC's planned output increase from December. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for December ended higher by $0.65 or 0.95 percent at $69.26 a barrel.