Taiwan Stock Market May Take Further Damage

(RTTNews) - The Taiwan stock market on Tuesday snapped the 10-day winning streak in which it had surged more than 530 points or 5.1 percent on its way to a 27-year closing high. The Taiwan Stock Exchange now rests just beneath the 10,725-point plateau and it's expected to extend its losses on Wednesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is flat to lower, with solid earnings news likely offset by profit taking and a fall in crude oil prices. The European and U.S. markets were mixed and little changed, and the Asian markets figure to follow suit.

The TSE finished modestly lower on Tuesday as losses form the technology stocks were tempered by support from the financial sector and a mixed picture from the steel companies.

For the day, the index shed 51.06 points or 0.47 percent to finish at the daily low of 10,723.15 after peaking at 10,798.52 on turnover of 118.85 billion Taiwan dollars.

Among the actives, Largan Precision gave away 0.87 percent, while Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company dropped 1.05 percent, AU Optronics lost 0.41 percent, MediaTek skidded 1.53 percent, Innolux fell 0.71 percent, Advanced Semiconductor Engineering shed 0.92 percent, Catcher Technology retreated 0.80 percent, Hon Hai Precision gained 0.91 percent, China Steel dipped 0.20 percent, Taiwan Steel climbed 0.42 percent, Cathay Financial collected 0.61 percent, Mega Financial gathered 0.63 percent and Fubon Financial was unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street provides little guidance as stocks showed a lack of direction on Tuesday, although the Dow and the S&P 500 reached new record closing highs.

The Dow added 40.48 points or 0.18 percent to 22,997.44, while the NASDAQ fell 0.35 points or 0.01 percent to 6,623.66 and the S&P 500 was up 1.72 points or 0.07 percent to 2,559.36.

In earnings news, UnitedHealth (UNH) reported better than expected Q3 earnings and raised its full-year guidance, while Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) also saw better than expected third quarter results.

On the economic front, the Federal Reserve said industrial production rebounded more than expected in September. Also, the National Association of Home Builders saw an unexpected jump in homebuilder confidence in October.

Crude oil futures were lower Tuesday following a report saying OPEC compliance with its supply quota plan was only 86 percent last month. WTI light sweet crude oil was down 23 cents at $51.64 a barrel, easing from three-week highs.