Renewed Consolidation Expected For Taiwan Stock Market

(RTTNews) - The Taiwan stock market on Thursday ended 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 16,450-point plateau although it figures to head south again on Friday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is negative on rising concerns about the outlook for interest rates and ongoing geopolitical risks. The European and U.S. markets were down and the Asian bourses are expected to follow that lead.

The TSE finished slightly higher on Thursday following a mixed performance from the technology and cement shares, while the financials were soft.

For the day, the index perked 11.82 points or 0.07 percent to finish at 16,452.73 after trading between 16,382.40 and 16,479.35.

Among the actives, Cathay Financial slumped 1.10 percent, while Mega Financial retreated 1.29 percent, CTBC Financial declined 1.19 percent, First Financial skidded 1.12 percent, Fubon Financial lost 0.65 percent, E Sun Financial weakened 1.22 percent, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company climbed 1.11 percent, United Microelectronics Corporation jumped 1.75 percent, Hon Hai Precision tumbled 1.90 percent, Largan Precision dipped 0.24 percent, Catcher Technology rose 0.27 percent, MediaTek spiked 2.09 percent, Novatek Microelectronics added 0.57 percent, Formosa Plastics dropped 1.00 percent, Nan Ya Plastics plunged 2.83 percent, Asia Cement gained 0.26 percent, Taiwan Cement stumbled 1.69 percent, China Steel surrendered 1.41 percent and Delta Electronics was unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street remains soft as the major averages opened slightly higher on Thursday, bounced back and forth across the unchanged line throughout the session before late weakness nudged them firmly into the red.

The Dow dropped 250.91 points or 0.75 percent to finish at 33,414.17, while the NASDAQ sank 128.13 points or 0.96 percent to end at 13,186.18 and the S&P 500 lost 36.60 points or 0.85 percent to close at 4,278.00.

The volatility on Wall Street came as Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell delivered highly anticipated remarks at an Economic Club of New York luncheon. Powell argued that inflation is "still too high" and warned additional monetary policy tightening may be needed.

Treasury yields moved higher following Powell's remarks, extending the upward trend seen over the past few sessions and once again reaching 16-year highs.

In economic news, the Labor Department said initial jobless claims unexpectedly declined to a nearly nine-month low last week.

Crude oil futures settled higher Thursday after early losses, as Israel reportedly prepared to move into Gaza to fight against Hamas. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for November added $1.05 or 1.2 percent at $89.37 a barrel.

Closer to home, Taiwan will release September data for export orders later today; in August, orders slumped 15.7 percent on year.