Taiwan Stock Market May Extend Thursday's Losses

(RTTNews) - The Taiwan stock market has alternated between positive and negative finishes through the last six trading days since the end of the two-day slide in which it had dropped more than 1,300 points or 2.9 percent. The Taiwan Stock Exchange sits just above the 45,620-point plateau and the losses may accelerate on Friday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is soft, with technology stocks expected to weigh. The European and U.S. markets were own and the Asian bourses are expected to open in similar fashion.

The TSE finished barely lower on Thursday as gains from the financials were offset by weakness from the technology companies.

For the day, the index eased 6.62 points or 0.01 percent to finish at 45,624.98 after trading between 44,970.64 and 45,855.02.

The lead from Wall Street is negative as the major averages opened mixed but quickly fell under water, trending lower throughout the trading day and finishing near session lows.

The Dow sank 105.67 points or 0.20 percent to finish at 52,552.97, while the NASDAQ tumbled 387.28 points or 1.47 percent to end at 25,881.95 and the S&P 500 lost 38.63 points or 0.51 percent to close at 7,533.77.

The pullback on Wall Street came amid renewed weakness among technology stocks, as reflected by the slump by the tech-heavy NASDAQ. Computer hardware and semiconductor stocks turned in some of the worst performances.

Gold, brokerage and steel stocks saw notable weakness, while transportation, housing and healthcare stocks were up.

In U.S. economic news, the Labor Department said first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits unexpectedly dipped to a two-month low last week. Also, the Commerce Department noted a modest increase in U.S. retail sales in June.

Crude oil prices slumped on Thursday as hopes for a diplomatic resolution to the U.S.-Iran conflict strengthened. West Texas Intermediate crude for August delivery was down $0.90 or 1.13 percent at $78.70 per barrel.