Tech Shares Likely To Weigh On Taiwan Stock Market

(RTTNews) - The Taiwan stock market turned lower again on Wednesday, one day after ending the two-day losing streak in which it had slumped more than 270 points or 1.3 percent. The Taiwan Stock Exchange now sits just above the 22,260-point plateau and the losses may accelerate on Thursday,

The global forecast for the Asian markets is soft on tariff concerns, particularly among the technology companies. The European and U.S. markets were down and the Asian bourses are expected to follow that lead.

The TSE finished slightly lower on Wednesday following a mixed performance from the technology stocks and support from the financial sector.

For the day, the index dipped 12.90 points or 0.06 percent to finish at 22,260.29 after trading between 22,235.89 and 22,398.12.

Among the actives, Cathay Financial collected 0.62 percent, while Mega Financial added 0.50 percent, CTBC Financial gained 0.63 percent, First Financial perked 0.18 percent, Fubon Financial rose 0.22 percent, E Sun Financial climbed 1.18 percent, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company skidded 1.01 percent, United Microelectronics Corporation shed 0.67 percent, Hon Hai Precision increased 0.61 percent, Largan Precision gathered 0.40 percent, Catcher Technology improved 0.71 percent, MediaTek sank 0.66 percent, Delta Electronics jumped 1.79 percent, Novatek Microelectronics dipped 0.18 percent, Formosa Plastics advanced 0.78 percent, Nan Ya Plastics was up 0.47 percent and Asia Cement strengthened 1.64 percent.

The lead from Wall Street is negative as the major averages opened mixed on Wednesday but all trended lower as the day progressed, ending solidly under water.

The Dow dropped 132.71 points or 0.31 percent to finish at 42,454.79, while the NASDAQ tumbled 372.84 points or 2.04 percent to close at 17,899.02 and the S&P 500 sank 64,45 points or 1.12 percent to end at 5,712.20.

The sharp pullback by the NASDAQ came as big-name tech stocks came under pressure, reflecting ongoing uncertainty about President Donald Trump's tariff plans.

Stocks saw further downside after the White House said Trump plans to announce new tariffs on auto imports later this afternoon.

In U.S. economic news, the Commerce Department noted an unexpected increase by new orders for U.S. manufactured durable goods in the month of February.

Oil prices moved higher Wednesday on supply concerns after data showed a sharp drop in U.S. crude oil inventories last week, while renewed efforts from the U.S. to limit Venezuelan and Iranian oil exports also boosted prices. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for May closed up $0.65 or about 0.94 percent at $69.65 a barrel.