Taiwan Stock Market May Regain Tuesday's Losses

(RTTNews) - The Taiwan stock market turned lower again on Tuesday, one day after snapping the three-day losing streak in which it had tumbled almost 350 points or 2.2 percent. The Taiwan Stock Exchange now rests just above the 15,360-point plateau although it may see renewed support on Wednesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is positive on bargain hunting and encouraging inflation data. The European and U.S. markets were sharply higher and the Asian bourses figure to follow that lead.

The TSE finished sharply lower on Tuesday following losses from the technology stocks, financial shares and plastics.

For the day, the index slumped 200.07 points or 1.29 percent to finish at 15,360.42 after trading between 15,348.12 and 15,517.74.

Among the actives, Cathay Financial slumped 1.77 percent, while Mega Financial declined 1.38 percent, CTBC Financial stumbled 2.25 percent, Fubon Financial surrendered 1.73 percent, First Financial sank 0.95 percent, E Sun Financial weakened 1.23 percent, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company skidded 1.16 percent, United Microelectronics Corporation plunged 3.43 percent, Hon Hai Precision and China Steel both dropped 0.97 percent, Largan Precision tanked 3.12 percent, Catcher Technology dipped 0.27 percent, MediaTek fell 0.39 percent, Delta Electronics tumbled 2.40 percent, Novatek Microelectronics retreated 1.87 percent, Formosa Plastics shed 0.78 percent, Nan Ya Plastics lost 0.80 percent, Asia Cement slid 0.58 percent and Taiwan Cement was unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is upbeat as the major averages opened sharply higher on Tuesday and remained in the green throughout the session.

The Dow jumped 336.26 points or 1.06 percent to finish at 32,155.40, while the NASDAQ rallied 239.31 points or 2.14 percent to end at 11,428.15 and the S&P 500 advanced 63.53 points or 1.65 percent to close at 3,919.29.

The strength on Wall Street was fueled by bargain hunting, particularly in the banking sector after regulators said there won't be a relapse of the financial crisis from 15 years ago.

Data showing a drop in U.S. consumer prices in February contributed significantly to the positive mood in the market, allaying fears of an accelerated rate hike from the Federal Reserve.

Crude oil prices fell sharply to a nine-week low on Tuesday amid concerns a fresh financial crisis following the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank could significantly hurt demand. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for April sank $3.47 or 4.7 percent at $71.33 a barrel.