Tech Shares May Drag Taiwan Stock Market Lower On Wednesday

The Taiwan stock market has moved lower in two straight sessions, slumping more than 100 points or 0.5 percent along the way. The Taiwan Stock Exchange now sits just above the 20,125-point plateau and it may extend its losses on Wednesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is mixed to lower, with technology and oil companies expected to be under pressure. The European markets were up and the U.S. bourses were down and the Asian markets figure to follow the latter lead.

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

For the day, the index lost 65.76 points or 0.33 percent to finish at 20,126.49 after trading between 19,977.40 and 20,397.07.

Among the actives, Cathay Financial collected 0.52 percent, while Mega Financial strengthened 1.37 percent, CTBC Financial rose 0.32 percent, First Financial added 0.36 percent, Fubon Financial advanced 0.87 percent, E Sun Financial climbed 1.11 percent, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company perked 0.26 percent, United Microelectronics Corporation dipped 0.19 percent, Hon Hai Precision tanked 2.41 percent, Largan Precision and Novatek Microelectronics both skidded 1.02 percent, Catcher Technology sank 0.71 percent, MediaTek improved 0.89 percent, Delta Electronics plunged 2.55 percent, Formosa Plastics spiked 2.21 percent, Nan Ya Plastics jumped 1.99 percent, Asia Cement rallied 1.71 percent, Taiwan Cement was up 0.20 percent and China Steel gained 0.63 percent.

The lead from Wall Street ends up negative as the major averages opened higher on Tuesday and spent most of the session in the green before a late slump sent them all under water at the close.

The Dow shed 31.31 points or 0.08 percent to finish at 39,282.33, while the NASDAQ lost 68.80 points or 0.42 percent to close at 16,315.70 and the S&P 500 fell 14.61 points or 0.28 percent to end at 5,203.58.

The late-day weakness on Wall Street may have reflected concerns about the economic impact of the indefinite suspension of vessel traffic into and out of the Port of Baltimore.

Vessel traffic was suspended after a cargo ship crashed into a pillar of the Francis Scott Key Bridge early Tuesday morning, leading to the bridge's collapse.

In economic news, the Commerce Department reported an increase in new orders for U.S. manufactured durable goods in February. Also, the Conference Board noted a slight deterioration in U.S. consumer confidence in March.

Crude oil futures settled lower on Tuesday with traders assessing oil demand and supply positions amid the tensions in the Middle East. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for May ended lower by $0.33 at $81.62 a barrel.

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