The TAIEX, Taiwan’s benchmark stock index, was little changed on Wednesday, edging down to 49,806 after five consecutive sessions of gains. Strength in financial and process-related stocks offset weakness in electronic technology and producer manufacturing shares. Sentiment was dampened by rising oil prices, which reinforced expectations of higher inflation and further interest rate hikes.
A positive lead from Wall Street, where tech-heavy sectors advanced overnight, lent some support to the market. Still, investors remained cautious ahead of the release of the FOMC meeting minutes. Notably, the TAIEX finished above the 49,000 level for a third straight session.
The electronic technology subindex slipped 0.4%. TSMC, the world’s largest contract chipmaker and accounting for more than 40% of the market’s total capitalization, was unchanged after gains in the previous session. Among other major names, MediaTek declined 1.7%, Delta Electronics lost 2.9%, while United Microelectronics, Fubon Financial, and Cathay Financial advanced 0.7%, 0.3%, and 1.3%, respectively.
