(RTTNews) - The Taiwan stock market on Wednesday wrote a finish to the two-day winning streak in which it had gained almost 300 points or 0.7 percent. The Taiwan Stock Exchange now sits just beneath the 41,375-point plateau although it's expected to discover renewed support on Thursday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is cautiously optimistic on hopes for an end to the hostilities in the Middle East. The European markets were up and the U.S. bourses were mostly higher and the Asian markets are also expected to track to the upside.
The TSE finished sharply lower on Wednesday following losses from the technology and plastics companies, while the financial sector offered support.
For the day, the index tumbled 523.82 points or 1.25 percent to finish at 41,374.50 after trading between 41,014.53 and 41,795.92.
Among the actives, Cathay Financial climbed 1.18 percent, while Mega Financial collected 0.89 percent, CTBC Financial rallied 2.62 percent, First Financial rose 0.34 percent, Fubon Financial improved 1.07 percent, E Sun Financial perked 0.31 percent, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company retreated 1.55 percent, United Microelectronics Corporation plunged 5.84 percent, Hon Hai Precision added 0.40 percent, Largan Precision jumped 1.97 percent, Catcher Technology declined 1.46 percent, MediaTek cratered 5.54 percent, Delta Electronics slumped 1.37 percent, Novatek Microelectronics eased 0.10 percent, Formosa Plastics contracted 1.57 percent, Nan Ya Plastics tanked 2.92 percent and Asia Cement gained 2.02 percent.
The lead from Wall Street is mixed to higher as the major averages opened mixed but trended higher throughout the session, finally finishing mixed.
The Dow shed 67.36 points or 0.14 percent to finish at 49,693.20, while the NASDAQ rallied 314.14 points of 1.20 percent to end at a record 26,402.34 and the S&P 500 gained 43.29 points or 0.58 percent to close at 7,444.25, also a record.
The mixed performance on Wall Street followed the release of a Labor Department report showing producer prices in the U.S. shot up much more than expected in April, marking the largest jump since March 2022.
Following the data, interest rate-sensitive utilities and housing stocks showed significant moves to the downside on the day.
The rally by the NASDAQ reflected substantial strength among semiconductor stocks, as reflected by the 2.6 percent surge by the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index.
Crude oil prices pulled back on Wednesday as the upcoming negotiations between the presidents of the U.S. and China have increased expectations of an end to the U.S.-Iran standoff despite OPEC and IEA oil forecast reports warning of a supply-demand mismatch. West Texas Intermediate crude for June delivery was down $1.04 or 1.02 percent at $101.14 per barrel.
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