Taiwan Bourse May Extend Tuesday's Losses

(RTTNews) - The Taiwan stock market on Tuesday ended the two-day winning streak in which it had collected more than 900 points or 2.2 to a record closing high. The Taiwan Stock Exchange now sits just above the 39,520-point plateau and the losses may accelerate on Wednesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is negative on weakness among the tech shares and because of the ongoing conflict in the Middle East and its effect on oil prices. The European markets were mixed and the U.S. bourses were down and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.

The TSE finished modestly lower on Tuesday as heavily weighted TSMC dragged the index into the red. Financials were mixed, while plastics and technology stocks were otherwise up.

For the day, the index slumped 94.90 points or 0.24 percent to finish at 39,521.73 after trading between 39,521.73 and 40,101.23.

Among the actives, Cathay Financial collected 0.33 percent, while Mega Financial advanced 0.88 percent, CTBC Financial perked 0.16 percent, First Financial dipped 0.18 percent, E Sun Financial fell 0.31 percent, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company tanked 2.21 percent, United Microelectronics Corporation spiked 3.30 percent, Hon Hai Precision climbed 1.10 percent, Largan Precision retreated 1.34 percent, Catcher Technology rallied 2.67 percent, MediaTek surged 7.39 percent, Delta Electronics soared 5.20 percent, Novatek Microelectronics dropped 0.96 percent, Formosa Plastics vaulted 1.59 percent, Nan Ya Plastics jumped 1.94 percent, Asia Cement perked 0.14 percent and Fubon Financial was unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is weak as the major averages opened mixed on Tuesday but all quickly tracked to the downside and finished in the red.

The Dow shed 25.86 points or 0.05 percent to finish at 49,141.93, while the NASDAQ slumped 223.30 points or 0.90 percent to end at 24,663.80 and the S&P 500 sank 35.11 points or 0.49 percent to close at 7,138.80.

The NASDAQ pulled back well off Monday's record closing high as companies tied to artificial intelligence infrastructure came under pressure after reports said OpenAI recently missed its own targets for new users and revenue.

An extended surge by the price of crude oil also weighed on Wall Street, with U.S. crude oil futures spiking above $100 a barrel before giving ground.

Crude oil prices soared on Tuesday amid the ongoing U.S.-Iran stalemate, although it gave ground later in the day following reports that Iran readied a revised peace plan. West Texas Intermediate crude for June month delivery was up $3.44 or 3.57 percent at $99.81 per barrel.