(RTTNews) - The Taiwan stock market has moved lower in two of three trading days since the end of the two-day winning streak in which it had gained almost 300 points or 0.7 percent. The Taiwan Stock Exchange now sits just above the 41,170-point plateau and it figures to open lower again on Monday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is negative on surging oil prices, ambiguity about the conflict in the Middle East and concerns over the outlook for interest rates. The European and U.S. markets were down and the Asian markets are expected to open in similar fashion.
The TSE finished sharply lower on Friday following losses from the plastic and cement sectors, while the technology stocks were mixed and the financial shares provided support.
For the day, the index stumbled 579.44 points or 1.39 percent to finish at 41,172.36 after trading between 41,016.73 and 42,408.66.
Among the actives, Cathay Financial vaulted 1.56 percent, while Mega Financial rose 0.25 percent, CTBC Financial perked 0.16 percent, First Financial shed 0.68 percent, Fubon Financial collected 1.59 percent, E Sun Financial added 0.31 percent, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company fell 0.22 percent, United Microelectronics Corporation jumped 1.85 percent, Hon Hai Precision rallied 1.64 percent, Largan Precision skyrocketed 9.89 percent, Catcher Technology tanked 2.89 percent, MediaTek plunged 4.26 percent, Delta Electronics crashed 3.71 percent, Novatek Microelectronics plummeted 5.38 percent, Formosa Plastics sank 0.87 percent, Asia Cement tumbled 2.41 percent and Nan Ya Plastics was unchanged.
The lead from Wall Street is bleak as the major averages opened lower on Friday and remained in the red throughout the trading day, ending ta session lows.
The Dow tumbled 537.33 points or 1.07 percent to finish at 49,526.17, while the NASDAQ plunged 410.05 points or 1.54 percent to close at 26,225.14 and the S&P 500 sank 92.74 points or 1.24 percent to end at 7,408.50.
For the week, the S&P perked 0.1 percent, while the NASDAQ eased 0.1 percent and the Dow slipped 0.2 percent.
The sell-off on Wall Street reflected profit taking following recent strength in the markets, which lifted the NASDAQ and S&P 500 to record highs, with technology shares leading the markets lower.
A sharp increase in treasury yields also weighed on the markets, with the yield on the benchmark 10-year note surging to its highest levels in almost a year after recent data has shown significant accelerations in the pace of consumer and producer price inflation, leading to concerns about the outlook for interest rates.
Crude oil prices surged on Friday after the U.S.-China summit ended with no announcement of Chinese intervention to end the gulf war, leaving the Strait of Hormuz blockade in place. West Texas Intermediate crude for June was up $4.18 or 4.13 percent at $105.35 per barrel.
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