The Taiwan stock market has moved higher in two of three trading days since the end of the three-day losing streak in which it had tumbled almost 350 points or 2.2 percent. The Taiwan Stock Exchange now rests just above the 15,385-point plateau although it may see renewed selling pressure on Thursday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is soft, with financials likely to lead the way lower amid fresh concerns over the stability of the sector. The European and U.S. markets were mostly lower and the Asian markets figure to follow that lead.
The TSE finished slightly higher on Wednesday following gains from the cement stocks, losses from the financials an mixed performances from the technology and plastic shares.
For the day, the index picked up 27.17 points or 0.18 percent to finish at the daily low of 15,387.59 after peaking at 15,526.73.
Among the actives, Cathay Financial eased 0.12 percent, while Mega Financial slid 0.31 percent, CTBC Financial sank 0.69 percent, Fubon Financial was down 0.35 percent, First Financial declined 0.38 percent, E Sun Financial dipped 0.21 percent, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company perked 0.20 percent, United Microelectronics Corporation jumped 1.97 percent, Hon Hai Precision added 0.49 percent, Largan Precision shed 0.64 percent, Catcher Technology rose 0.27 percent, MediaTek fell 0.39 percent, Delta Electronics strengthened 1.40 percent, Novatek Microelectronics lost 0.48 percent, Formosa Plastics retreated 0.45 percent, Nan Ya Plastics gathered 0.54 percent, Asia Cement improved 0.82 percent, Taiwan Cement advanced 0.95 percent and China Steel was unchanged.
The lead from Wall Street is largely negative as the major averages opened sharply lower on Wednesday. A late push pared the losses and nudged the NASDAQ barely into the green.
The Dow tumbled 280.83 points or 0.87 percent to finish at 31,874.57, while the NASDAQ perked 5.90 points or 0.05 percent to close at 11,434.05 and the S&P 500 sank 27.36 points or 0.70 percent to end at 3,891.93.
The weakness on Wall Street was fueled by weakness from the financial sector.
In addition to ongoing concerns about turmoil in the financial sector following the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank, short-term debt woes of Swiss lender Credit Suisse contributed to the bearish sentiment in the market.
In economic news, the Commerce Department said retail sales in U.S. fell slightly more than expected in February. Also, the Labor Department said producer prices in the U.S. unexpectedly edged slightly lower last month.
Crude oil prices plunged to their lowest level since December 2021 on Wednesday, amid rising concerns about global economic growth and worries about the outlook for energy demand after data showed an increase in U.S. crude inventories. West Texas Intermediate futures for April tumbled 5 percent at $67.61 a barrel.
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