Rally May Stall For Taiwan Stock Market

(RTTNews) - The Taiwan stock market has finished higher in back-to-back sessions, advancing more than 450 points or 2.2 percent in that span. The Taiwan Stock Exchange now sits just above the 19,380-point plateau although it may see profit taking on Wednesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets suggests further consolidation on concerns over the outlook for interest rates. The European markets were mixed and flat and the U.S. bourses were sharply lower and the Asian markets also figure to open in the red.

The TSE finished modestly higher on Tuesday following a mixed performance from the technology stocks and weakness from the financials.

For the day, the index gained 81.61 points or 0.42 percent to finish at 19,386.92 after trading between 19,332.73 and 19,453.85.

Among the actives, Mega Financial collected 0.64 percent, while CTBC Financial dipped 0.17 percent, First Financial eased 0.19 percent, Fubon Financial slid 0.15 percent, E Sun Financial fell 0.20 percent, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company added 0.69 percent, United Microelectronics Corporation slipped 0.20 percent, Largan Precision shed 0.58 percent, Catcher Technology rose 0.25 percent, MediaTek gained 0.43 percent, Delta Electronics skidded 1.02 percent, Novatek Microelectronics perked 0.17 percent, Formosa Plastics lost 0.56 percent, Nan Ya Plastics tumbled 1.90 percent, Taiwan Cement slumped 0.16 percent, China Steel sank 0.62 percent and Cathay Financial, Hon Hai Precision and Asia Cement were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is broadly negative as the major averages opened lower on Tuesday and remained deep in the red throughout the session, ending near daily lows.

The Dow plummeted 404.64 points or 1.04 percent to finish at 38,585.19, while the NASDAQ tumbled 267.92 points or 1.65 percent to close at 15,939.59 and the S&P 500 sank 52.30 points or 1.02 percent to end at 5,078.65.

The weakness on Wall Street came as traders continued to cash in on recent strength in the markets, which lifted the S&P 500 and the NASDAQ to record closing highs last week.

Uncertainty about the outlook for interest rates also weighed on the markets ahead of congressional testimony by Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell. He's due to testify before the House Financial Services Committee later today and the Senate Banking Committee on Thursday.

In U.S. economic news, the Institute for Supply Management said U.S. service sector growth slowed more than expected in February. Also, The Commerce Department noted a drop in new orders for U.S. manufactured goods in January.

Crude oil futures settled lower on Tuesday, falling for the second consecutive session on concerns about the outlook for demand. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for April ended down $0.59 at $78.15 a barrel.