Rebound Tipped For Taiwan Stock Market

(RTTNews) - The Taiwan stock market has moved lower in three straight sessions, tumbling more than 320 points or 3 percent along the way. The Taiwan Stock Exchange now rests just beneath the 10,260-point plateau although it may get a boost from the technology stocks on Wednesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is flat and mixed amid apprehension regarding the outlook for interest rates, along with a decline in crude oil prices. The European and U.S. markets were mixed but little changed and the Asian bourses figure to follow suit.

The TSE finished modestly lower on Tuesday as losses from the technology stocks and steel companies were tempered by support from the financial sector.

For the day, the index dropped 78.87 points or 0.76 percent to finish at the daily low of 10,257.02 after peaking at 10,374.54 on turnover of 121.24 billion Taiwan dollars.

Among the actives, Hon Hai Precision skidded 1.43 percent, while Innolux dropped 1.75 percent, Largan Precision plunged 4.03 percent, AU Optronics retreated 1.22 percent, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company tumbled 1.38 percent, Taiwan Steel was down 0.75 percent, China Steel and Cathay Financial were unchanged, Mega Financial climbed 1.06 percent and Fubon Financial collected 0.75 percent.

The lead from Wall Street is inconclusive as stocks were lackluster on Tuesday, lingering near the unchanged line before closing mixed.

The Dow dipped 11.77 points or 0.05 percent to 22,284.32, while the NASDAQ rose 9.57 points or 0.15 percent to 6,380.16 and the S&P added 0.18 points or 0.01 percent to 2,496.84.

Markets were skittish after Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen hinted at imminent rate hikes. "We should be wary of moving too gradually," Yellen said in a speech to the National Association for Business Economics meeting in Cleveland.

In economic news, the Commerce Department noted an unexpected drop in new home sales, while the Conference Board saw deterioration in consumer confidence in September.

Crude oil prices were down on Tuesday, as WTI crude futures for November fell 34 cents or 0.65 percent to 51.88 per barrel.