Taiwan Shares May Open Under Pressure On Wednesday

(RTTNews) - The Taiwan stock market has finished higher in three straight sessions, jumping almost 2,700 points or 5.9 percent in that span. The Taiwan Stock Exchange now sits just above the 45,800-point plateau although it's likely to see consolidation on Wednesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is soft, with profit taking on the docket after a few days of solid gains. The European markets were up and the U.S. bourses were mostly lower and the Asian markets are expected to follow the latter lead.

The TSE finished modestly higher on Tuesday following gains from the financial shares and technology stocks.

For the day, the index improved 412.20 points or 0.91 percent to finish at 45,809.19 after trading between 45,266.34 and 45,809.19.

Among the actives, Cathay Financial soared 5.29 percent, while Mega Financial collected 1.14 percent, CTBC Financial rallied 1.00 percent, First Financial strengthened 1.60 percent, Fubon Financial spiked 3.53 percent, E Sun Financial expanded 1.59 percent, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company improved 1.05 percent, United Microelectronics Corporation fell 0.35 percent, Hon Hai Precision added 0.56 percent, Largan Precision skyrocketed 9.95 percent, Catcher Technology slumped 1.20 percent, MediaTek jumped 2.01 percent, Delta Electronics advanced 0.90 percent, Novatek Microelectronics climbed 1.01 percent, Formosa Plastics skidded 1.06 percent, Nan Ya Plastics tumbled 1.71 percent and Asia Cement rose 0.42 percent.

The lead from Wall Street is mixed to lower as the major averages opened higher on Tuesday but only the Dow was able to hold on to its gains as the markets finished mixed.

The Dow rallied 328.64 points or 0.64 percent to finish at a record 51,999.67, while the NASDAQ dropped 307.60 points or 1.15 percent to end at 26,376.34 and the S&P 500 sank 42.94 points or 0.57 percent to close at 7,511.35.

The pullback by the NASDAQ and the S&P 500 reflected profit taking following recent strength in the markets. Optimism about an end to the monthslong U.S.-Iran contributed to the recent recovery, but some traders cashed in on gains as they wait for the peace deal to be finalized.

The mixed performance on Wall Street also came as traders looked ahead to the Federal Reserve's monetary policy announcement later today. The Fed is widely expected to leave interest rates unchanged, but the accompanying statement and new Chair Kevin Warsh's post-meeting comments could impact the outlook for rates.

On the inflation front, a report released by the Labor Department showed import prices in the U.S. shot up by much more than expected in the month of May.

Crude oil prices plummeted on Tuesday as transit disruption concerns faded due to the anticipated U.S.-Iran deal. West Texas Intermediate crude for July delivery was down $4.90 or 6.07 percent at $75.85 per barrel.