The Taiwan stock market has declined in consecutive sessions, dropping over 650 points or 2.8 percent. It now stands just above the 22,510-point level, though there’s a possibility it may stop the downward trend on Monday. On Friday, the TSE ended sharply lower due to losses in financial shares, technology stocks, plastics, and cement companies. It plunged 422.00 points or 1.84 percent to close at 22,510.25 after reaching a peak of 22,845.59.
Performance of Key Stocks
Among the active stocks, Cathay Financial sank 0.59 percent, Mega Financial eased 0.13 percent, CTBC Financial perked 0.16 percent, First Financial dropped 0.92 percent, and so on. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company tanked 3.27 percent, United Microelectronics Corporation declined 1.51 percent, and other companies also had varying levels of changes in their share prices.
Influence of Global Markets
The global forecast for Asian markets is cautiously optimistic based on an improved interest rate outlook. European markets were down while U.S. bourses were up, and Asian markets are expected to follow the U.S. lead. On Wall Street, the major averages had a positive turn on Friday. The Dow rallied 498.06 points or 1.18 percent to finish at 42,840.26, the NASDAQ jumped 199.80 points or 1.03 percent to close at 19,572.60, and the S&P 500 gained 63.77 points or 1.09 percent to end at 5,930.85. However, for the week, the Dow plunged 2.3 percent, the S&P 500 tumbled 2.0 percent, and the NASDAQ slumped 1.8 percent. The rally on Wall Street followed the release of the Commerce Department’s report on personal consumption expenditures (PCE), which led traders to buy stocks after a mid-week sell-off.
Oil Futures Situation
Oil futures settled higher on Friday as the dollar came off two-year highs after soft PCE readings eased concerns about interest rate cuts. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures perked $0.08 or about 0.1 percent to $69.46 a barrel, though they shed 2.5 percent over the week.
Domestic Data to Watch
Closer to home, Taiwan will see November figures for industrial production and unemployment later today. In October, industrial output was up 8.85 percent on year, while the jobless rate was 3.38 percent.
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