Taiwan Bourse Tipped To Open In The Red

(RTTNews) - The Taiwan stock market has moved lower in two of three trading days since the end of the three-day winning streak in which it had climbed almost 130 points or 1.3 percent. The Taiwan Stock Exchange now rests just above the 10,540-point plateau and it may extend its losses on Thursday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is negative on recession concerns and sliding crude oil prices. The European and U.S. markets were down and the Asian bourses are tipped to open in similar fashion.

The TSE finished slightly lower on Wednesday following losses from the financials and mixed performances from the cement and technology stocks.

For the day, the index sank 16.50 points or 0.16 percent to finish at 10,542.70 after trading between 10,515.86 and 10,556.75.

Among the actives, Asia Cement plunged 1.50 percent, while Taiwan Cement rose 0.25 percent, Cathay Financial tumbled 1.66 percent, Mega Financial eased 0.18 percent, CTBC Financial and Fubon Financial both dropped 1.21 percent, Taishin Financial slid 0.36 percent, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company skidded 1.02 percent, Hon Hai Precision added 0.14 percent, Largan Precision perked 0.54 percent, AsusTek Computer gained 0.45 percent, MediaTek shed 0.53 percent, Catcher Technology soared 2.43 percent, Formosa Plastic advanced 0.93 percent and United Microelectronics Corporation and First Financial were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is soft as stocks fluctuated on Wednesday, reflecting recent volatility before ending in the red.

The Dow shed 32.14 points or 0.13 percent to 25,625.59, while the NASDAQ lost 48.15 points or 0.63 percent to 7,643.38 and the S&P 500 fell 13.09 points or 0.46 percent to 2,805.37.

The lower close on Wall Street came amid a notable drop by bond yields, which extended the downward trend seen in the past few sessions. The yield on the benchmark ten-year note ended the day at its lowest closing level since December 2017.

Bond yields have moved to the downside amid concerns about the economic outlook, with an inversion of the yield curve leading to worries about a potential recession.

Traders also reacted to a report from the Commerce Department showing the U.S. trade deficit narrowed more than expected in January due to a steep drop in the value of imports.

Crude oil futures ended lower Wednesday after the Energy Information Administration noted an unexpected increase in crude inventories last week. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for May ended down $0.53 or 0.9 percent at $59.41 a barrel.