Taiwan Bourse May Test Support At 16,000 Points

(RTTNews) - The Taiwan stock market has finished lower in three straight sessions, slumping more than 600 points or 3.7 percent along the way. The Taiwan stock Exchange now rests just above the 16,070-point plateau and it's expected to extend its losses on Tuesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is broadly negative on fears of n economic slowdown and concerns over the outlook for interest rates. The European and U.S. markets were sharply lower and the Asian markets are expected to follow that lead.

The TSE finished sharply lower on Monday following losses from the financial shares, technology stocks and cement companies.

For the day, the index plunged 389.12 points or 2.36 percent to finish at 16,070.98 after trading between 16,055.89 and 16,295.07.

Among the actives, Cathay Financial stumbled 1.82 percent, while Mega Financial weakened 1.62 percent, CTBC Financial slumped 1.73 percent, Fubon Financial tumbled 1.75 percent, E Sun Financial sank 0.86 percent, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company shed 2.64 percent, United Microelectronics Corporation declined 2.34 percent, Hon Hai Precision retreated 2.19 percent, Largan Precision tanked 3.04 percent, Catcher Technology dipped 0.60 percent, MediaTek plunged 4.62 percent, Delta Electronics surrendered 3.80 percent, Formosa Plastic was down 0.93 percent, Asia Cement lost 1.02 percent, Taiwan Cement dropped 1.45 percent and First Financial was unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is brutal as the major averages opened sharply lower on Monday and only got worse as the day progressed, ending deep in the red.

The Dow plummeted 876.05 points or 2.79 percent to finish at 30,516 billion baht, while the NASDAQ plunged 530.80 points or 4.68 percent to close at 10,809.23 and the S&P 500 dropped 151.23 points or 3.88 percent to close at 3,749.63.

The extended sell-off on Wall Street reflected lingering concerns about inflation and the outlook for interest rates after last Friday's report showing a jump in consumer prices.

The Federal Reserve is scheduled to announce its latest monetary policy decision on Wednesday, with the central bank expected to continuing raising interest rates in an effort to combat inflation.

While the Fed's rate hikes have been widely anticipated for months, traders seem increasingly concerned tighter monetary policy could trigger a period of stagflation or an outright recession.

Crude oil futures rebounded from early losses and settled modestly higher on Monday as concerns about global supplies outweighed demand worries. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for July ended higher by $0.26 or 0.2 percent at $120.93 a barrel.