More Pain Predicted For Taiwan Stock Market

(RTTNews) - The Taiwan stock market has finished lower in three straight sessions, shedding almost 420 points or 1.8 percent in that span. The Taiwan Stock Exchange now sits just above the 22,450-point plateau and it figures to open under water again on Tuesday. The global forecast for the Asian markets is broadly negative on recession fears and concerns over the health of the world economy. The European and U.S. markets finished sharply lower and the Asian bourses are expected to open under pressure as well. The TSE finished modestly lower again on Monday following mixed performances from the financial shares and technology stocks. For the day, the index slumped 116.92 points or 0.52 percent to finish at 22,459.15 after trading between 22,407.57 and 22,641.25. Among the actives, Cathay Financial and CTBC Financial both perked 0.16 percent, while Mega Financial collected 0.63 percent, Fubon Financial fell 0.22 percent, E Sun Financial improved 0.70 percent, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company sank 0.70 percent, United Microelectronics Corporation rallied 2.04 percent, Largan Precision retreated 1.67 percent, Catcher Technology gained 0.73 percent, MediaTek plunged 4.78 percent, Novatek Microelectronics shed 0.37 percent, Formosa Plastics advanced 1.03 percent, Nan Ya Plastics climbed 1.05 percent, Asia Cement was up 0.11 percent and Hon Hai Precision was unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street suggests continued consolidation as the major averages opened lower on Monday and continued to weaken as the day progressed.

The Dow plummeted 890.01 points or 2.08 percent to finish at 41,911.71, while the NASDAQ crashed 727.90 points or 4.00 percent to close at 17,468.32 and the S&P 500 stumbled 155.64 points or 2.70 percent to end at 5,614.56.

The weakness on Wall Street came amidst rising concerns about the outlook for economic growth and corporate earnings after U.S. President Donald Trump declined to rule out the possibility of a recession following his tariff actions on Mexico, Canada and China.

With a slew of crucial economic data due later in the week, the mood in the market is extremely cautious. On tap are reports on consumer and producer price inflation, as well as readings on consumer sentiment and inflation expectations.

Oil prices fell to six-month lows on Monday as worries about global economic growth and fears of a U.S. recession fueled demand concerns. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures settled lower by $1.01 or 1.5 percent at $66.03 a barrel, the lowest settlement since September 10, 2024.