Soft Start Seen For Taiwan Stock Market

(RTTNews) - The Taiwan stock market has tracked higher in three straight sessions, collecting more than 310 points or 2.4 percent along the way. The Taiwan Stock Exchange now rests just above the 13,100-point plateau although the rally may stall on Thursday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets suggests consolidation on concerns about the outlook for interest rates following the FOMC's rate decision. The European and U.S. markets were sharply lower and the Asian markets are expected to open in similar fashion.

The TSE finished modestly higher on Wednesday as gains from the technology and cement companies were offset by weakness from the plastics and financials.

For the day, the index gained 62.96 points or 0.48 percent to finish at the daily high of 13,100.17 after moving as low as 13,014.04.

Among the actives, Cathay Financial climbed 1.05 percent, while Mega Financial retreated 1.34 percent, CTBC Financial skidded 1.18 percent, Fubon Financial eased 0.19 percent, First Financial shed 0.60 percent, E Sun Financial lost 0.64 percent, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company advanced 0.89 percent, United Microelectronics Corporation gained 0.77 percent, Hon Hai Precision added 0.49 percent, Largan Precision jumped 1.90 percent, Catcher Technology improved 0.58 percent, Delta Electronics spiked 2.87 percent, Formosa Plastics slumped 0.60 percent, Nan Ya Plastics slid 0.29 percent, Asia Cement dipped 0.13 percent, Taiwan Cement rose 0.33 percent and MediaTek was unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is broadly negative as the major averages hugged the line for most of Wednesday's session but turned sharply lower after the FOMC decision.

The Dow plunged 505.44 points or 1.55 percent to finish at 32,147.76, while the NASDAQ tumbled 366.05 points or 3.36 percent to close at 10,524.80 and the S&P 500 slumped 96.41 points or 2.50 percent to end at 3,759.69.

The late-day volatility came after the Fed announced its widely expected decision to raise interest rates by another 75 basis points in an effort to rein in inflation.

The Fed noted that future rate hikes will "take into account the cumulative tightening of monetary policy, the lags with which monetary policy affects economic activity and inflation, and economic and financial developments."

But comments from Fed Chair Jerome Powell tamped down optimism about the outlook for interest rates: "It is very premature, in my view, to think about or be talking about pausing our rate hikes. We have a ways to go."

Crude oil prices climbed higher on Wednesday after data showed declines in crude and gasoline stockpiles in the U.S. last week. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for December climbed $1.63 or 1.8 percent at $90.00 a barrel.