Continued Consolidation Called For Taiwan Shares

The Taiwan stock market on Tuesday halted the five-day winning streak in which it had jumped more than 300 points or 2.2 percent. The Taiwan Stock Exchange now sits just above the 14,470-point plateau and it may extend its losses on Wednesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is soft as traders take a wait-and-see attitude regarding stimulus and coronavirus vaccines. The European markets were mixed and the U.S. bourses slightly lower and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.

The TSE finished slightly lower on Tuesday as losses from the technology stocks were offset by support from the financial shares.

For the day, the index eased 11.02 points or 0.08 percent to finish at 14,472.05 after trading between 14,435.03 and 14,547.07.

Among the actives, Cathay Financial was up 0.12 percent, while CTBC Financial added 0.26 percent, Fubon Financial eased 0.11 percent, First Financial collected 0.48 percent, E Sun Financial increased 0.20 percent, United Microelectronics Corporation tanked 2.47 percent, Hon Hai Precision tumbled 1.53 percent, Largan Precision skidded 1.39 percent, Catcher Technology climbed 1.24 percent, MediaTek dropped 0.81 percent, Formosa Plastic rose 0.21 percent, Formosa Chemical advanced 0.74 percent, Asia Cement gained 0.35 percent and Taiwan Cement, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company and Mega Financial were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is mildly negative as stocks failed to sustain an initial move to the upside and moved modestly lower over the course of the trading session on Tuesday.

The Dow shed 68.30 points or 0.22 percent to finish at 30,335.67, while the NASDAQ sank 49.20 points or 0.38 percent to end at 12,850.22 and the S&P 500 fell 8.32 points or 0.22 percent to close at 3,727.04.

Stocks initially benefited from window dressing, as some fund managers looked to further boost their portfolios going into the end of the year. The initial advance lifted the major averages to new record intraday highs, although buying interest waned shortly after the start of trading.

Traders also kept an eye on developments in Washington after President Donald Trump signed a coronavirus relief and government spending bill over the weekend.

Trump called for the direct payments included in the bill to be increased to $2,000 from $600, and the House voted Monday to approve a measure increasing the size of the stimulus checks. However, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ken., blocked an effort by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., to unanimously approve the House bill.

Crude oil prices moved higher on Tuesday amid hopes energy demand will pick up if U.S. policymakers decide to provide additional stimulus to boost economic growth. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for February ended higher by $0.38 or 0.8 percent at $48.00 a barrel.

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