Taiwan Stock Market May Hand Back Tuesday's Gains

(RTTNews) - The Taiwan stock market bounced higher again on Tuesday, one day after ending the three-day winning streak in which it had advanced almost 400 points or 1.8 percent. The Taiwan Stock Exchange now sits just above the 22,835-point plateau although it may turn lower again on Wednesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is soft, with weakness expected from the oil, finance and property stocks, while the technology companies may offer support. The European markets were down and the U.S. bourses were also mostly soft and the Asian market figure to open in the red.

The TSE finished sharply higher on Tuesday following gains from the technology, plastics and cement sectors, while the financials came in mixed.

For the day, the index advanced 220.97 points or 0.98 percent to finish at 22,835.94 after trading between 22,588.26 and 22,888.23.

Among the actives, Cathay Financial dipped 0.16 percent, while Mega Financial skidded 1.18 percent, CTBC Financial rallied 2.39 percent, First Financial fell 0.17 percent, Fubon Financial climbed 1.09 percent, E Sun Financial collected 0.43 percent, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company jumped 1.37 percent, United Microelectronics Corporation advanced 0.93 percent, Hon Hai Precision strengthened 1.56 percent, Largan Precision gathered 0.67 percent, Catcher Technology rose 0.48 percent, MediaTek increased 0.72 percent, Delta Electronics surged 4.44 percent, Novatek Microelectronics gained 0.61 percent, Formosa Plastics added 0.70 percent, Nan Ya Plastics climbed 1.10 percent and Asia Cement improved 0.87 percent.

The lead from Wall Street is weak as the major averages opened mixed on Tuesday and trended generally lower, remaining mixed at the close.

The Dow tumbled 436.36 points or 0.98 percent to finish at 44,023.29, while the NASDAQ gained 37.47 points or 0.18 percent to close at a record 20,677.80 and the S&P 500 sank 24,80 points or 0.40 percent to end at 6,243.76.

The uptick by the NASDAQ came amid strength in the semiconductor stocks, as reflected by the 1.3 percent gain posted by the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index. The index ended the session at its best closing level in a year.

Nvidia (NVDA) helped lead the sector higher, with the AI darling surging by 4.0 percent to a record closing high after indicating it will "soon" resume H20 AI chip sales to China.

On the other hand, housing stocks moved sharply lower on the day, resulting in a 3.3 percent plunge by the Philadelphia Housing Sector Index. Oil service stocks also slumped amid a decrease by the price of crude oil, dragging the Philadelphia Oil Service Index down by 3.1 percent.

Crude oil price fell modestly on Tuesday as the previously predicted supply-side pressure from Russia due to President Donald Trump's sanctions waned with his 50-day ultimatum. West Texas Intermediate crude for August delivery closed down by $0.46 at $66.52 per barrel.