Rebound Anticipated For Taiwan Stock Market

(RTTNews) - The Taiwan stock market ticked higher again on Monday, one session after ending the five-day winning streak in which it had surged more than 750 points or 3.8 percent. The Taiwan Stock Exchange now sits just above the 21,270-point plateau although it's likely to bounce higher again on Tuesday. The global forecast for the Asian markets is cautiously optimistic, with strength likely from the technology shares. The European markets were up and the U.S. bourses were mixed and the Asian markets are tipped to open to the upside. The TSE finished slightly higher on Monday following mixed performances from the financial shares, technology stocks and plastics and cement companies. For the day, the index perked 13.16 points or 0.06 percent to finish at 21,271.63 after trading between 21,102.18 and 21,338.35. Among the actives, Cathay Financial sank 0.71 percent, while Mega Financial dipped 0.12 percent, CTBC Financial collected 1.18 percent, First Financial surged 3.03 percent, Fubon Financial skidded 1.07 percent, E Sun Financial improved 1.38 percent, United Microelectronics Corporation added 0.57 percent, Hon Hai Precision retreated 1.47 percent, Largan Precision shed 0.43 percent, Catcher Technology shed 0.68 percent, MediaTek rallied 2.15 percent, Delta Electronics declined 1.40 percent, Novatek Microelectronics strengthened 1.49 percent, Formosa Plastics fell 0.29 percent, Nan Ya Plastics gained 1.24 percent, Asia Cement jumped 1.91 percent, Taiwan Cement slid 0.15 percent, China Steel advanced 0.80 percent and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company was unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is inconsistent as the major averages opened mixed on Monday and closed in the same fashion.

The Dow stumbled 196.82 points or 0.49 percent to finish at 39,806.77, while the NASDAQ jumped 108.91 points or 0.65 percent to close at a record high 16,794.88 and the S&P 500 rose 4.86 points or 0.09 percent to end at 5,308.13.

The advance by the NASDAQ reflected strength in the tech sector, with semiconductor stocks leading the way as the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index jumped by 2.2 percent to a two-month closing high.

Gold stocks also saw notable strength on the day, as the price of the precious metal reached a new record high, while banking stocks and telecom stocks moved to the downside.

The Dow was hit by profit taking after the index closed above 40,000 points for the first time on Friday.

Oil prices settled lower on Monday, weighed down by concerns the Federal Reserve will likely keep interest rates higher for a longer time. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures dropped to around $79.80, down $0.26 from the previous close.