Renewed Support Called For Taiwan Stock Market

(RTTNews) - The Taiwan stock market turned lower again on Tuesday, one day after snapping the three-day slide in which it had slumped more than 300 points or 2.4 percent. The Taiwan Stock Exchange now rests just beneath the 12,670-point plateau although it's expected to bounce higher again on Wednesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is upbeat on continued optimism over falling treasury yields and an improved outlook for interest rates. The European and U.S. markets were up and the Asian bourses are expected to follow that lead.

The TSE finished sharply lower on Tuesday following losses from the technology and cement stocks, while the financials offered support and the plastics were mixed.

For the day, the index slumped 190.86 points or 1.48 percent to finish at 12,666.12 after trading between 12,629.48 and 12,843.31.

Among the actives, Cathay Financial climbed 1.35 percent, while Mega Financial advanced 1.18 percent, CTBC Financial collected 0.50 percent, Fubon Financial gained 0.30 percent, First Financial improved 1.02 percent, E Sun Financial gathered 1.35 percent, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company plunged 4.13 percent, United Microelectronics Corporation rose 0.13 percent, Hon Hai Precision added 0.49 percent, Largan Precision strengthened 1.45 percent, Catcher Technology slumped 1.22 percent, MediaTek plummeted 4.25 percent, Delta Electronics tanked 3.35 percent, Formosa Plastics was up 0.37 percent, Nan Ya Plastics slid 0.15 percent, Asia Cement shed 0.67 percent and Taiwan Cement tumbled 2.29 percent.

The lead from Wall Street is solid for the third straight session as the major averages opened higher and picked up steam as the day progressed, ending near session highs.

For the day, the index spiked 337.12 points or 1.07 percent to finish at 31,836.74, while the NASDAQ surged 246.50 points or 2.25 percent to close at 11,199.12 and the S&P 500 jumped 61.77 points or 1.63 percent to end at 3,859.11.

The extended rally on Wall Street came amid a sharp pullback by treasury yields, with the yield on the benchmark 10-year note showing a steep drop after ending the previous session at a 14-year closing high.

The pullback by treasury yields came as traders continue to express optimism the Federal Reserve will signal a slower pace of interest rate hikes following its meeting next week.

The markets also benefited from a positive reaction to the latest earnings news, with General Motors (GM) and Coca-Cola (KO) posting strong gains after reporting better than expected third quarter earnings.

Crude oil futures settled higher Tuesday, buoyed by a weaker dollar and concerns about supply after Saudi Arabia's energy minister commented that energy stocks were being used as a mechanism to manipulate markets. West Texas Intermediate Crude futures for December ended higher by $0.74 or 0.9 percent at $85.32 a barrel.