Tech Shares Likely To Boost Taiwan Stock Market

(RTTNews) - The Taiwan stock market has finished lower in four straight sessions, sliding almost 1,700 points or 5.3 percent along the way. The Taiwan Stock Exchange now sits just above the 31,720-point plateau and it's expected to open to the upside on Wednesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is upbeat on optimism for an end to hostilities in the Middle East. The European and U.S. markets were up and the Asian bourses are expected to follow that lead.

The TSE finished sharply lower on Tuesday with damage across the board, especially among the financial shares, technology stocks and plastics companies.

For the day, the index cratered 795.17 points or 2.45 percent to finish at 31,722.99 after trading between 31,705.99 and 32,453.38.

Among the actives, Cathay Financial dipped 0.16 percent, while Mega Financial shed 0.52 percent, CTBC Financial skidded 1.16 percent, First Financial collected 0.18 percent, Fubon Financial lost 0.46 percent, E Sun Financial sank 0.78 percent, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company slumped 1.12 percent, United Microelectronics Corporation dropped 0.88 percent, Hon Hai Precision tanked 3.35 percent, Largan Precision retreated 1.15 percent, Catcher Technology was down 0.79 percent, MediaTek contracted 1.32 percent, Delta Electronics plummeted 7.07 percent, Novatek Microelectronics tumbled 2.94 percent, Formosa Plastics cratered 4.87 percent, Nan Ya Plastics crashed 9.21 percent and Asia Cement stumbled 1.28 percent.

The lead from Wall Street is broadly positive as the major averages opened higher on Tuesday and continued to accelerate throughout the day, ending at session highs.

The Dow surged 1,125.37 points or 2.49 percent to finish at 46,341.51, while the NASDAQ rallied 795.99 points or 3.83 percent to end at 21,590.63 and the S&P 500 jumped 184.80 points or 2.91 percent to close at 6,528.52.

Despite the rally on the day, the major averages all posted steep losses for the month of March. The Dow plummeted 5.4 percent, the S&P 500 plunged 5.1 percent and the NASDAQ tumbled 4.8 percent.

The rally on Wall Street followed reports that U.S. President Donald Trump is looking to end the war in the Middle East even if the Strait of Hormuz remains largely closed.

Bargain hunting also contributed to the strength on Wall Street, with the NASDAQ and the S&P 500 bouncing off their lowest closing levels in almost eight months.

Crude oil plummeted Tuesday on reports that Trump was willing to push Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz through diplomatic efforts. West Texas Intermediate crude for May delivery was down $1.28 or 1.24 percent at $101.60 per barrel.