The Taiwan stock market has experienced fluctuations over the past six trading sessions after an initial two-day downturn, which saw a decrease of nearly 360 points or 1.5 percent. The Taiwan Stock Exchange currently remains marginally above the 22,930-point mark and might see a slight increase on Friday.
The outlook for Asian markets remains uncertain due to ongoing concerns about interest rate trajectories. European markets registered declines, while U.S. markets showed mixed and stagnant performance, a pattern Asian markets might follow.
On Thursday, the Taiwan Stock Exchange closed significantly lower, driven by declines in financial sectors, technology stocks, and plastics companies. The index fell by 236.42 points or 1.02 percent, ending the day at 22,932.25, after moving between 22,743.30 and 22,947.56 throughout the session.
In terms of individual performances, Cathay Financial and United Microelectronics Corporation both saw declines of 1.60 percent. Mega Financial decreased by 0.51 percent, CTBC Financial dropped 0.76 percent, First Financial fell 0.55 percent, and Fubon Financial slipped 1.09 percent. E Sun Financial decreased by 1.28 percent. Notably, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company fell by 1.38 percent, Hon Hai Precision plummeted by 1.90 percent, and Largan Precision dipped by 1.16 percent. Meanwhile, Catcher Technology edged up by 0.28 percent, Delta Electronics dropped 2.12 percent, Novatek Microelectronics declined 1.42 percent, Formosa Plastics increased by 0.26 percent, Nan Ya Plastics fell by 1.35 percent, Asia Cement reduced by 1.66 percent, and MediaTek remained unchanged.
Wall Street's influence remains unclear as major indices initially rose on Thursday due to bargain hunting, but subsided as trading progressed, resulting in mixed and minimal changes. The Dow Jones increased by 15.37 points or 0.04 percent, concluding at 42,342.24. Conversely, the NASDAQ fell by 19.93 points or 0.10 percent, ending at 19,372.77, and the S&P 500 decreased by 5.08 points or 0.09 percent to close at 5,867.08.
Initial Wall Street strength was attributed to traders capitalizing on lower stock prices following significant losses on Wednesday, which prompted the Dow to hit a monthly low. Wednesday's downturn followed the Federal Reserve's expected decision to reduce interest rates by a quarter-point and indicate fewer rate cuts than anticipated next year.
The Federal Reserve's cautious stance on further rate cuts is supported by robust economic data. The Commerce Department reported a stronger-than-expected GDP growth in Q3, while the Labor Department noted a significant reduction in first-time claims for U.S. jobless benefits.
On Thursday, crude oil futures experienced a downturn, pressured by a stronger dollar after the Federal Reserve's indication of fewer future interest rate cuts. West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures for January fell by $0.67 or 0.95 percent, closing at $69.91 per barrel.
Locally, Taiwan is set to release November export order figures today, following a 4.9 percent year-over-year increase in October.
The material has been provided by InstaForex Company -
www.instaforex.com
