Tech Shares Likely To Weigh On Taiwan Market

(RTTNews) - The Taiwan stock market turned lower again on Wednesday, one day after snapping the two-day slide in which it had dropped more than 500 points or 2.1 percent. The Taiwan Stock Exchange now sits just beneath the 23,760-point plateau and it's expected to extend its losses on Thursday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets suggests consolidation, especially among the technology and semiconductor companies. The European and U.S. markets were mostly lower and the Asian bourses also figure to follow suit.

The TSE finished modestly lower on Wednesday following losses from the technology and cement stocks, gains from the plastics and a mixed picture from the financial sector.

For the day, the index stumbled 227.43 points or 0.95 percent to finish at 23,769.82 after trading between 23,650.94 and 23,993.68.

Among the actives, Cathay Financial eased 0.15 percent, while Mega Financial perked 0.12 percent, CTBC Financial dropped 0.94 percent, Fubon Financial slumped 0.76 percent, E Sun Financial collected 0.17 percent, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company surrendered 2.37 percent, Hon Hai Precision shed 0.47 percent, Largan Precision tumbled 1.92 percent, Catcher Technology plunged 3.33 percent, MediaTek retreated 1.49 percent, Delta Electronics fell 0.36 percent, Novatek Microelectronics sank 0.72 percent, Formosa Plastics surged 5.07 percent, Nan Ya Plastics soared 4.56 percent, Asia Cement declined 1.34 percent and United Microelectronics Corporation and First Financial were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is a study in contrasts as the Dow opened higher and stayed that way, hitting a fresh record high - while the NASDAQ and S&P remained mired in the red.

The Dow soared 243.60 points or 0.59 percent to finish at 41,198.08, while the NASDAQ plummeted 512.42 points or 2.77 percent to close at 17.996.92 and the S&P 500 tumbled 78.93 points or 1.39 percent to end at 5,588.27.

Wall Street was led lower by semiconductor stocks, which plummeted on reports that President Joe Biden's administration is considering tougher trade rules against companies in its chip crackdown on China.

Negative sentiment was also generated after former President Donald Trump suggested Taiwan should pay the U.S. for defense, claiming the country took "about 100 percent" of America's chip business.

In economic news, the Commerce Department noted a significant rebound by new residential construction and building permits in the U.S. in June. A separate report released by the Federal Reserve showed industrial production in the U.S. increased more than expected last month.

Oil prices rose sharply on Wednesday after data showed an unexpected sharp drop in U.S. crude inventories last week, while a weaker dollar also provided support. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for August rallied $2.09 or 2.6 percent at $82.85 a barrel.