Taiwan Stock Market May End Losing Streak

(RTTNews) - The Taiwan stock market has moved lower in four consecutive trading days, dropping more than 410 points or 2.4 percent along the way. The Taiwan Stock Exchange now sits just beneath the 17,520-point plateau although it's due for support on Monday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is murky as investors try to balance upbeat economic data against its consequences for interest rates. The European markets were down on Friday and the U.S. bourses were slightly higher and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.

The TSE finished slightly lower on Friday following losses from the plastic stocks, while the financials, technology shares and cement companies were mixed.

For the day, the index fell 30.51 points or 0.17 percent to finish at 17,519.14 after trading between 17,495.39 and 17,606.79.

Among the actives, Cathay Financial added 0.34 percent, while Mega Financial collected 0.52 percent, CTBC Financial eased 0.18 percent, Fubon Financial lost 0.47 percent, E Sun Financial dipped 0.19 percent, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company shed 0.69 percent, Largan Precision tumbled 2.08 percent, Catcher Technology rallied 1.55 percent, MediaTek sank 0.75 percent, Delta Electronics rose 0.16 percent, Novatek Microelectronics skidded 1.01 percent, Formosa Plastics dropped 0.26 percent, Nan Ya Plastics fell 0.30 percent, Asia Cement was down 0.12 percent, Taiwan Cement gained 0.44 percent and China Steel, United Microelectronics Corporation, Hon Hai Precision and First Financial were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street offers little clarity as the major averages saw considerable volatility on Friday before ending with slight gains.

The Dow added 25.81 points or 0.07 percent to finish at 37,466.11, while the NASDAQ rose 13.77 points or 0.09 percent to close at 14,524.07 and the S&P 500 perked 8.56 points or 0.18 percent to end at 4,697.24.

For the week, the major averages were down for the first time in 10 weeks as the NASDAQ plunged 3.3 percent, the S&P 500 slumped 1.5 percent and the Dow slid 0.6 percent.

The volatility came as traders reacted to key U.S. economic data, including a closely watched Labor Department report showing stronger than expected job growth in December.

While the data initially raised concerns about the outlook for interest rates, positive sentiment prevailed as traders digested the details of the report, which also showed notable downward revisions to job growth in October and November.

Crude oil showed a strong move to the upside on Friday, reflected ongoing fears of an escalation of the Israel-Hamas war into a broader regional conflict. West Texas Intermediate for February delivery surged $1.62 or 2.2 percent to $73.81 a barrel.