Taiwan Shares May Take Further Damage On Wednesday

(RTTNews) - The Taiwan stock market has tracked lower in back-to-back sessions, tumbling almost 1,100 points or 3.2 percent along the way. The Taiwan Stock Exchange now sits just beneath the 34,325-point plateau and it's expected to open in the red again on Wednesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is negative on continuing concerns over the conflict in the Middle East, although oil stocks are expected to continue to soar. The European and U.S. markets were down and the Asian markets are expected to follow that lead.

The TSE finished sharply lower on Tuesday following losses from the technology stocks and plastics companies, although the financial sector was up on bargain hunting.

For the day, the index plummeted 771.44 points or 2.20 percent to finish at the daily low of 34,323.65 after peaking at 35,264.59.

Among the actives, Mega Financial collected 0.50 percent, while First Financial rose 0.34 percent, Fubon Financial perked 0.11 percent, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company tanked 2.03 percent, United Microelectronics Corporation surrendered 2.95 percent, Hon Hai Precision stumbled 4.18 percent, Largan Precision eased 0.20 percent, Catcher Technology skidded 1.05 percent, MediaTek crashed 4.47 percent, Delta Electronics plummeted 5.96 percent, Novatek Microelectronics tumbled 1.81 percent, Formosa Plastics slumped 1.48 percent, Nan Ya Plastics cratered 5.03 percent, Asia Cement retreated 1.54 percent and Cathay Financial, CTBC Financial and E Sun Financial were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is soft as the major averages opened lower on Tuesday and spent the entire session in the red, although closing at their best levels for the day.

The Dow stumbled 403.51 points or0.83 percent to finish at 48,501.27, while the NASDAQ sank 232.17 points or 1.02 percent to end at 22,516.69 and the S&P 500 dropped 64.99 points or 0.94 percent to close at 6,816.63.

The early nosedive on Wall Street came amid concerns about the fallout from the ongoing conflict in the Middle East. As the conflict entered its fourth day, U.S. President Donald Trump suggested the war may last four to five weeks but could "go far longer than that."

The price of crude oil has continued to spike in response to the conflict, raising worries the jump in prices will lead to higher inflation.

Supply concerns were also worsened by the attacks on several oil refineries, including Saudi Aramco's oil facility in Ras Tanura.

After skyrocketing in the previous session, crude oil prices continued to soar on Tuesday after Iran closed the Strait of Hormuz. West Texas Intermediate crude for April delivery surged $3.35 or 4.7 percent to $74.58 a barrel.

Closer to home, Taiwan will see January figures for export orders later today; in December, orders surged 43.8 percent on year.