On Monday, the Taiwan stock market edged higher, rebounding from a session that ended a five-day winning streak where it had surged over 750 points or 3.8%. The Taiwan Stock Exchange (TSE) is now positioned just above the 21,270-point mark and is poised for another possible uptick on Tuesday. The forecast for Asian markets is cautiously optimistic, primarily driven by strength in technology shares. While European markets saw gains and U.S. markets were mixed, Asian markets are expected to open on a positive note.
On Monday, the TSE recorded a slight increase, with mixed performances across financial shares, technology stocks, as well as plastics and cement companies. The index rose by 13.16 points or 0.06% to close at 21,271.63, trading between 21,102.18 and 21,338.35 throughout the day. Among the active stocks, Cathay Financial fell by 0.71%, Mega Financial edged down by 0.12%, while CTBC Financial gained 1.18%, and First Financial surged by 3.03%. Fubon Financial decreased by 1.07%, whereas E Sun Financial improved by 1.38%. United Microelectronics Corporation added 0.57%, but Hon Hai Precision retreated by 1.47%, Largan Precision dropped by 0.43%, and Catcher Technology shed 0.68%. MediaTek rallied by 2.15%, Delta Electronics declined by 1.40%, and Novatek Microelectronics strengthened by 1.49%. In the plastics sector, Formosa Plastics fell by 0.29% while Nan Ya Plastics gained 1.24%. In the cement sector, Asia Cement jumped by 1.91%, Taiwan Cement slid by 0.15%, and China Steel advanced by 0.80%. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company remained unchanged.
Wall Street’s performance on Monday was inconsistent, with major averages opening and closing in a mixed fashion. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped by 196.82 points or 0.49% to close at 39,806.77. Conversely, the NASDAQ rose by 108.91 points or 0.65% to hit a record high of 16,794.88, and the S&P 500 inched up by 4.86 points or 0.09% to settle at 5,308.13.
The NASDAQ's advance was bolstered by strength in the tech sector, particularly semiconductor stocks, with the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index rising by 2.2% to reach a two-month closing high. Gold stocks also experienced notable gains, driven by the precious metal reaching a new record high, while banking and telecom stocks saw declines. The Dow's dip was influenced by profit-taking following its milestone close above 40,000 points on Friday.
Oil prices decreased on Monday due to concerns that the Federal Reserve might maintain higher interest rates for an extended period. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures dropped to approximately $79.80, down by $0.26 from the prior close.
