Rebound Anticipated For Taiwan Stock Market

(RTTNews) - The Taiwan stock market on Monday halted the six-day winning streak in which it had climbed almost 210 points or 1.2 percent. The Taiwan Stock Exchange now sits just above the 17,650-point plateau although it's expected to bounce higher again on Tuesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is cautiously optimistic on hopes for an interest rate cut. The European markets were mixed and the U.S. bourses were modestly higher and the Asian markets are expected to split the difference.

The TSE finished slightly lower on Monday following mixed performances from the financial shares, technology stocks and plastics.

For the day, the index eased 21.84 points or 0.12 percent to finish at 17,652.03 after trading between 17,586.88 and 17,665.91.

Among the actives, Cathay Financial and Mega Financial both slumped 0.76 percent, while CTBC Financial rose 0.36 percent, First Financial collected 0.55 percent, Fubon Financial dropped 0.92 percent, E Sun Financial dipped 0.19 percent, United Microelectronics Corporation fell 0.20 percent, Hon Hai Precision added 0.49 percent, Largan Precision perked 0.19 percent, Catcher Technology spiked 2.43 percent, MediaTek sank 0.70 percent, Delta Electronics tumbled 1.92 percent, Novatek Microelectronics improved 0.78 percent, Formosa Plastics climbed 1.00 percent, Nan Ya Plastics lost 0.45 percent, Asia Cement shed 0.59 percent, Taiwan Cement gained 0.73 percent, China Steel advanced 0.76 percent and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company was unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is mostly positive as the major averages opened higher on Monday and largely stayed that way, although the Dow struggled to stay in the green.

The Dow rose 0.86 points or 0.00 percent to finish at 37,306.02, while the NASDAQ advanced 90.89 points or 0.61 percent to close at 14,904.81 and the S&P 500 gained 21.37 points or 0.45 percent to end at 4,740.56.

The major averages have moved higher for seven consecutive weeks due in part to optimism about the outlook for interest rates, with last week's rally coming as the Federal Reserve's latest projections hinted at three rate cuts next year.

However, several Fed officials have subsequently pushed back on investor hopes that rate cuts by the central bank are imminent. Nonetheless, CME Group's FedWatch Tool still suggests there is a good chance the Fed will lower interest rates by a quarter point in March.

In economic news, the National Association of Home Builders released a report showing homebuilder sentiment in the U.S. rebounded in December after falling for four consecutive months.

Oil prices rose sharply on Monday on rising tensions in the Middle Ease due to recent attacks on ships crossing the Red Sea, which have raised supply concerns. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for January ended higher by $1.04 or 1.44 percent at $72.47 a barrel.