Rally May Stall For Taiwan Stock Market

(RTTNews) - The Taiwan stock market has climbed higher in three straight sessions, accelerating more than 800 points or 3.4 percent along the way. The Taiwan Stock Exchange now sits just above the 23,650-point plateau although it may be stuck in neutral on Wednesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is negative on renewed concerns about the outlook for interest rates. The European markets were mixed and the U.S. bourses were down and the Asian markets figure to follow the latter lead.

The TSE finished modestly higher on Tuesday following gains from the cement stocks, weakness from the plastics and financials and a mixed picture from the technology shares.

For the day, the index advanced 103.56 points or 0.44 percent to finish at the daily low of 23,651.27 after peaking at 23,943.95.

Among the actives, Mega Financial dropped 0.64 percent, while First Financial sank 0.72 percent, E Sun Financial lost 0.55 percent, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company added 0.44 percent, United Microelectronics Corporation stumbled 2.42 percent, Hon Hai Precision rallied 2.98 percent, Largan Precision shed 0.53 percent, Catcher Technology jumped 1.53 percent, MediaTek surged 4.56 percent, Delta Electronics accelerated 3.23 percent, Novatek Microelectronics strengthened 1.41 percent, Formosa Plastics plummeted 4.69 percent, Nan Ya Plastics plunged 4.16 percent, Asia Cement rose 0.25 percent and Fubon Financial, CTBC Financial and Cathay Financial were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is bleak as the major averages opened slightly higher on Tuesday but quickly turned lower and finished deep in the red.

The Dow stumbled 178.20 points or 0.42 percent to finish at 42,528.36, while the NASDAQ plummeted 375.30 points or 1.89 percent to close at 19,489.68 and the S&P 500 sank 66.35 points or 1.11 percent to end at 5,909.03.

The sharp pullback by stocks came amid a notable increase by treasury yields, with the yield on the benchmark 10-year note surging to its highest closing level in eight months.

The jump by treasury yields, which led to concerns about the outlook for interest rates, came following the release of some upbeat U.S. economic data.

The Institute for Supply Management said U.S. service sector activity increased more than expected in December. The report also said the prices index surged to a one-year high, leading to concerns that inflation will remain sticky. Also, the Labor Department said job openings in the U.S. unexpectedly increased in November.

Oil prices climbed higher Tuesday amid a possible supply shortage after China decided to reject imports from Iran and Russia, while unusually cold weather in the U.S. also contributed to the rise in oil prices. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for February closed up $0.69 or 0.94 percent at $74.25 a barrel.