The Taiwan stock market on Wednesday ended the three-day winning streak in which it had advanced more than 530 points or 2.4 percent. The Taiwan Stock Exchange now rests just above the 23,535-point plateau and its looking at a fairly flat lead for Wednesdays trade.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is soft thanks to rising treasury yields. The European and U.S. markets were slightly lower and the Asian bourses are expected to follow suit.
The TSE finished barely lower on Tuesday as losses from the plastics and technology stocks were offset by support from the financial sector.
For the day, the index eased 7.10 points or 0.03 percent to finish at the daily high of 23,535.43 after moving as low as 23,269.86.
Among the actives, Cathay Financial rallied 1.46 percent, while Mega Financial perked 0.25 percent, CTBC Financial improved 1.39 percent, First Financial advanced 0.92 percent, Fubon Financial spiked 2.64 percent, E Sun Financial collected 0.18 percent, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company dropped 0.92 percent, United Microelectronics Corporation fell 0.39 percent, Hon Hai Precision soared 2.62 percent, Catcher Technology dipped 0.21 percent, MediaTek and Novatek Microelectronics both retreated 1.50 percent, Delta Electronics climbed 1.13 percent, Formosa Plastics slumped 1.27 percent, Nan Ya Plastics declined 1.19 percent and Largan Precision was unchanged.
The lead from Wall Street offers little clarity as the major averages opened slightly lower on Tuesday and hugged the line throughout the day, with the NASDAQ managing to peek above the line by the close.
The Dow shed 6.71 points or 0.02 percent to finish at 42,924.89, while the NASDAQ rose 33.12 points or 0.18 percent to end at 18,573.13 and the S&P 500 slipped 2.78 points or 0.05 percent to close at 5,851.20.
The early weakness on Wall Street reflected renewed concerns about the outlook for interest rates after a recent surge by U.S. treasury yields.
After the Fed slashed interest rates by 50 basis points last month, CME Groups FedWatch Tool is currently indicating an 89.6 percent chance of just a 25-basis point rate cut next month.
The subsequent recovery by the markets came even though the yield on the benchmark ten-year note crept up to a nearly three-month closing high, as traders are optimistic about the economic outlook.
Oil prices rose sharply on Tuesday amid hopes that Chinas latest stimulus move will push up demand, although the upside was limited by a possible a ceasefire deal in the Middle East. West Texas Intermediate Crude futures for November added $1.53 or 2.1 percent at $72.09 a barrel.
Closer to home, Taiwan will see September figures for industrial production later today; in August, industrial production was up 13.42 percent on year.