Taiwan Bourse May Extend Monday's Losses

(RTTNews) - The Taiwan stock market has alternated between positive and negative finishes through the last four trading days since the end of the two-day slide in which it had stumbled almost 150 points or 1.1 percent. The Taiwan Stock Exchange now rests just above the 14,980-point plateau and it may take further damage on Tuesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets suggests mild consolidation amid concerns over growth and sinking oil prices. The European and U.S. markets were slightly lower and the Asian bourses are expected to follow that lead.

The TSE finished slightly lower on Monday following mixed performances from the financial shares, technology stocks and cement companies. For the day, the index dipped 18.38 points or 0.12 percent to finish at 14,981.69 after trading between 14,886.81 and 14,994.36. Among the actives, Cathay Financial dipped 0.11 percent, while Mega Financial collected 0.42 percent, Fubon Financial advanced 0.89 percent, E Sun Financial skidded 1.09 percent, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company dropped 0.98 percent, United Microelectronics Corporation added 0.37 percent, Largan Precision sank 0.72 percent, MediaTek strengthened 1.61 percent, Delta Electronics rose 0.19 percent, Formosa Plastics gained 0.54 percent, Nan Ya Plastics rallied 1.78 percent, Asia Cement fell 0.24 percent, Taiwan Cement jumped 1.94 percent and Hon Hai Precision, Catcher Technology, CTBC Financial and First Financial were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street ends up mildly negative as the major averages opened lower on Monday and bounced back and forth across the unchanged line before finally ending slightly in the red.

The Dow shed 45.95 points or 0.14 percent to finish at 32,799.18, while the NASDAQ fell 21.71 points or 018 percent to close at 12,368.98 and the S&P 500 dipped 11.67 points or 0.28 percent to end at 4,118.62.

Worries about slowing growth weighed on sentiment, but fairly encouraging corporate earnings updates helped limit market's downside.

In addition, investors are looking ahead to the crucial non-farm payroll data due later in the week.

In economic news, the S&P Global US Manufacturing PMI was revised slightly lower in July, while the Commerce Department said U.S. construction spending fell more than expected in June. Also, the Institute for Supply Management's Manufacturing PMI was down slightly in July but not as much as feared.

Crude oil prices fell sharply on Monday amid concerns about outlook for energy demand and ahead of this week's OPEC+ meeting. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for September ended lower by $4.73 or 4.8 percent at $93.89 a barrel.