Taiwan Bourse May Extend Friday's Losses

(RTTNews) - The Taiwan stock market on Friday wrote a finish to the three-day winning streak in which it had jumped more than 450 points or 2 percent. The Taiwan Stock Exchange now sits just beneath the 22,550-point plateau and it may take further damage on Monday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is soft thanks to ongoing tariff concerns. The European markets were down and the U.S. bourses were closed for the July 4 holiday, and the Asian markets also figure to open in the red.

The TSE finished modestly lower on Friday following losses from the technology stocks and a mixed picture from the financial sector.

For the day, the index sank 165.50 points or 0.73 percent to finish at 22,547.50 after trading between 22,500.97 and 22,842.75.

Among the actives, Cathay Financial fell 0.33 percent, while Mega Financial skidded 1.08 percent, First Financial collected 0.85 percent, Fubon Financial tanked 2.41 percent, E Sun Financial added 0.60 percent, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company shed 0.46 percent, United Microelectronics Corporation retreated 1.46 percent, Hon Hai Precision tumbled 1.83 percent, Largan Precision surrendered 2.59 percent, Catcher Technology improved 0.72 percent, MediaTek rallied 1.57 percent, Delta Electronics lost 0.44 percent, Novatek Microelectronics dropped 0.91 percent, Asia Cement slumped 1.71 percent and CTBC Financial, Formosa Plastics and Nan Ya Plastics were unchanged.

There is no lead from Wall Street, but the European stock markets were down amid concerns about U.S. tariffs.

With the July 9 deadline to strike deals with the U.S. just a few days away, U.S. President Donald Trump has announced that his government will send letters to trading partners outlining unilateral tariffs that will take effect on August 1.

The EU, which is pushing for an agreement in principle ahead of July 9, has acknowledged that a comprehensive deal is unlikely to be reached by the deadline.

There is also concern over Trump's "Big, Beautiful Bill," which will add at least $3.3 trillion to the country's already-mammoth national debt.

Crude oil prices slumped on Friday on easing geopolitical concerns in the Middle East. West Texas Intermediate crude for August delivery was down $0.51 or 0.76 percent to finish at $66.49 per barrel.