Losses May Accelerate For Taiwan Stock Market

(RTTNews) - The Taiwan stock market headed south again on Friday, one session after snapping the four-day losing streak in which it had stumbled more than 385 points or 2.4 percent. The Taiwan Stock Exchange now sits just above the 16,440-point plateau and it's expected to open in the red again on Monday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is broadly negative on rising bond yields and their effect on the outlook for interest rates. The European and U.S. markets were down and the Asian markets figure to follow that lead.

The TSE finished slightly lower on Friday following losses from the financial shares, technology stocks and plastic and cement sectors.

For the day, the index fell 12.01 points or 0.07 percent to finish at 16,440.72 after trading between 16,271.82 and 16,462.56.

Among the actives, Cathay Financial slumped 0.89 percent, while Mega Financial tanked 2.22 percent, CTBC Financial sank 0.80 percent, First Financial lost 0.76 percent, Fubon Financial slid 0.49 percent, E Sun Financial dropped 0.83 percent, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company jumped 1.83 percent, United Microelectronics Corporation declined 1.22 percent, Largan Precision shed 0.49 percent, Catcher Technology retreated 1.35 percent, MediaTek fell 0.24 percent, Delta Electronics plunged 2.68 percent, Novatek Microelectronics added 0.34 percent, Formosa Plastics surrendered 0.88 percent, Nan Ya Plastics weakened 1.23 percent, Asia Cement dipped 0.51 percent, Taiwan Cement skidded 0.47 percent, China Steel plummeted 2.45 percent and Hon Hai Precision was unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is weak as the major averages opened lower and spent the entire day firmly in the red, ending at session lows.

The Dow dropped 286.89 points or 0.86 percent to finish at 33,127.28, while the NASDAQ slumped 202.37 points or 1.53 percent to close at 12,983.81 and the S&P 500 sank 53.84 points or 1.26 percent to end at 4,224.16.

For the week, the NASDAQ dropped 3.2 percent, the S&P 500 dove 2.4 percent and the Dow tumbled 1.6 percent.

The continued weakness on Wall Street came amid ongoing concerns about the recent surge in treasury yields to 16-year highs. Overnight, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note climbed above 5 percent for the first time since July 2007.

The recent advance by yields reflects continued worries about the outlook for interest rates, with the Federal Reserve signaling rates will remain higher for longer than previously anticipated.

Fears the Israel-Hamas war may escalate into a broader regional crisis also contributed to the negative sentiment on Wall Street.

Crude oil prices couldn't hold on to early gains, slumping on demand concerns amid fears the Israel-Hamas war may escalate into a broader regional crisis. West Texas Intermediate for November delivery, which expired Friday, fell $0.62 or 0.7 percent at $88.75 a barrel. The more active December futures slipped $0.29 or 0.3 percent to $88.08 a barrel.

Closer to home, Taiwan will provide September numbers for industrial production and unemployment later today. In August, industrial production was down 10.53 percent on year and the jobless rate was 3.42 percent.