Taiwan Bourse Expected To Snap Losing Streak

(RTTNews) - The Taiwan stock market has moved lower in two straight sessions, giving up almost 100 points or 0.6 percent along the way. The Taiwan Stock Exchange now sits just above the 17,575-point plateau although it may stop the bleeding on Wednesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is positive on continued optimism over the outlook for interest rates. The European and U.S. markets were up and the Asian bourses are expected to open in similar fashion.

The TSE finished modestly lower on Tuesday following losses from the financial shares, technology stocks and plastics.

For the day, the index lost 75.48 points or 0.43 percent to finish at 17,576.55 after trading between 17,497.32 and 17,669.84.

Among the actives, Cathay Financial declined 1.32 percent, while Mega Financial collected 0.26 percent, First Financial slumped 1.09 percent, Fubon Financial dropped 0.93 percent, E Sun Financial and Taiwan Cement both shed 0.58 percent, United Microelectronics Corporation skidded 1.19 percent, Hon Hai Precision added 0.49 percent, Largan Precision gained 0.56 percent, Catcher Technology perked 0.26 percent, MediaTek rose 0.30 percent, Delta Electronics retreated 1.47 percent, Novatek Microelectronics tumbled 1.73 percent, Formosa Plastics sank 0.87 percent, Nan Ya Plastics lost 0.60 percent, Asia Cement plunged 2.86 percent and China Steel, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company and CTBC Financial were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is upbeat as the major averages opened higher on Tuesday and remained in the green throughout the session.

The Dow jumped 251.90 points or 0.68 percent to finish at 37,557.92, while the NASDAQ advanced 98.03 points or 0.66 percent to close at 15,003.22 and the S&P 500 added 27.81 points or 0.59 percent to end at 4,768.37.

Optimism about the outlook for interest rates continued to contribute to strength on Wall Street following the Federal Reserve's monetary policy announcement last week.

Adding to the positive sentiment, San Francisco Federal Reserve President Mary Daly said interest rate cuts are likely to be appropriate next year because of an improvement in inflation.

In economic news, the Commerce Department reported a substantial increase in new residential construction in the U.S. in November. Also, building permits slumped more than expected.

Oil prices rose on Tuesday, extending gains on supply concerns after several companies rerouting their vessels due to the attacks by Houthi militants in the Red Sea. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for January rose $0.97 or 1.3 percent at $73.44 a barrel.

Closer to home, Taiwan will see November figures for export orders later today; in October, orders were down 4.6 percent on year.