The Taiwan stock market on Monday snapped the two-day winning streak in which it had jumped more than 440 points or 2 percent. The Taiwan Stock Exchange now rests just beneath the 21,150-point plateau although its expected to bounce higher again on Tuesday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is positive on anticipated bargain hunting and on the outlook for interest rates. The European and U.S. markets were solidly higher and the Asian bourses are tipped to open in similar fashion.
The TSE finished sharply lower on Monday following losses from the technology stocks and plastics companies, while the financials were mixed.
For the day, the index retreated 290.75 points or 1.36 percent to finish at 21,144.44 after trading between 20,922.51 and 21,163.91.
Among the actives, Cathay Financial slumped 1.57 percent, while Mega Financial collected 0.51 percent, CTBC Financial shed 0.61 percent, First Financial fell 0.37 percent, Fubon Financial dropped 2.38 percent, E Sun Financial rallied 1.45 percent, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company stumbled 2.07 percent, United Microelectronics Corporation slumped 1.28 percent, Hon Hai Precision tanked 2.55 percent, Largan Precision retreated 1.46 percent, Catcher Technology rose 0.21 percent, MediaTek plunged 3.49 percent, Delta Electronics plummeted 3.46 percent, Novatek Microelectronics declined 1.52 percent, Formosa Plastics sank 2.70 percent, Nan Ya Plastics weakened 1.62 percent and Asia Cement lost 0.44 percent.
The lead from Wall Street is upbeat as the major averages opened higher on Monday and remained well in the green throughout the trading day.
The Dow surged 484.18 points or 1.20 percent to finish at 40,829.59, while the NASDAQ rallied 193.77 points or 1.16 percent to close at 16,884.60 and the S&P 500 climbed 62.63 points or 1.16 percent to end at 5,471.05.
The rally on Wall Street came as traders looked to pick up stocks at reduced levels following the steep drop seen last week, which dragged the NASDAQ down to its lowest levels in nearly a month.
Optimism the Federal Reserve will lower interest rates later this month has also contributed to the strength on Wall Street, despite lingering concerns about the outlook for the U.S. economy.
CME Groups FedWatch Tool is currently indicating a 73 percent chance the Fed will lower rates by 25 basis points and a 29 percent chance of a 50 basis point rate cut.
Oil prices climbed higher Monday on the possibility of weather-related production issues in the the Gulf of Mexico, and on OPECs decision to delay a production boost originally scheduled to begin in October. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for October ended up by $1.04 or 1.54 percent at $68.71 a barrel.