The Taiwan stock market has finished lower in three consecutive sessions, surrendering almost 700 points or 3.4 percent along the way. The Taiwan Stock Exchange now rests just above the 21,170-point plateau although it may stop the bleeding on Monday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is cautiously optimistic on an improved outlook for interest rates. The European and U.S. markets were mostly higher and the Asian bourses are likely to follow that lead.
The TSE finished modestly lower on Friday as losses from the technology stocks were mitigated by support from the financial sector.
For the day, the index slumped 190.28 points or 0.89 percent to finish at the daily low of 21,174.22 after moving as high as 21,539.03.
Among the actives, Cathay Financial climbed 1.08 percent, while Mega Financial collected 0.39 percent, CTBC Financial rose 0.28 percent, First Financial added 0.73 percent, Fubon Financial rallied 2.09 percent, E Sun Financial soared 3.25 percent, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company surrendered 2.03 percent, United Microelectronics Corporation retreated 1.43 percent, Hon Hai Precision tanked 2.55 percent, Largan Precision climbed 1.11 percent, Catcher Technology shed 0.66 percent, MediaTek plunged 4.26 percent, Delta Electronics declined 1.52 percent, Novatek Microelectronics tumbled 1.98 percent, Formosa Plastics lost 0.46 percent, Asia Cement slumped 1.07 percent, Taiwan Cement gained 0.46 percent, China Steel fell 0.42 percent and Nan Ya Plastics was unchanged.
The lead from Wall Street is fairly positive as the major averages opened higher on Friday, slumped midday but rallied to finish mixed.
The Dow surged 574.82 points or 1.51 percent to finish at 38,686.32, while the NASDAQ dipped 2.08 points or 0.01 percent to close at 16,735.02 and the S&P 500 gained 42.03 points or 0.80 percent to end at 5,277.51.
For the week, the S&P 500 fell 0.5 percent and the Dow and the NASDAQ slumped by 1.0 percent and 1.1 percent, respectively - although the major averages all posted strong gains for the month of May.
The mostly higher close on Wall Street followed the release of a highly anticipated Commerce Department data showing consumer prices in the U.S. increased in line with estimates in April, while core consumer prices edged up slightly less than expected.
The readings on inflation, which are said to be preferred by the Federal Reserve, generated optimism that investors may see a rate cut in the coming months.
Oil prices fell on Friday, extending losses to a third straight day amid concerns about the outlook for demand - although optimism over the extension of OPEC production cuts limited the downside. West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures for July slipped $0.92 at $76.99 a barrel.