(RTTNews) - The Taiwan stock market on Thursday wrote a finish to the two-day winning streak in which it had climbed more than 250 points or 1.5 percent. The Taiwan Stock Exchange now sits just above the 17,125-point plateau and the losses may accelerate on Friday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets suggests consolidation on growing concerns over the outlook for interest rates. The European markets were mixed and the U.S. bourses were sharply lower and the Asian markets figure to follow the latter lead.
The TSE finished slightly lower on Thursday following losses from the financial shares and mixed performances from the technology stocks.
For the day, the index dipped 20.93 points or 0.12 percent to finish at 17,129.95 after trading between 17,106.37 and 17,213.66.
Among the actives, Mega Financial tumbled 1.80 percent, while CTBC Financial declined 1.54 percent, Fubon Financial shed 0.40 percent, First Financial retreated 1.42 percent, E Sun Financial sank 0.92 percent, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company dropped 0.88 percent, United Microelectronics Corporation advanced 0.84 percent, Largan Precision jumped 1.49 percent, Catcher Technology fell 0.34 percent, MediaTek strengthened 1.40 percent, Delta Electronics gained 0.80 percent, Novatek Microelectronics skidded 0.99 percent, Formosa Plastic perked 0.47 percent, Nan Ya Plastics slumped 0.45 percent, Asia Cement improved 0.74 percent, Taiwan Cement added 0.43 percent and Hon Hai Precision and Cathay Financial were unchanged.
The lead from Wall Street is negative as the major averages were unable to hold early gains on Thursday, accelerating into the red as the day progressed.
The Dow tumbled 368.03 points or 1.05 percent to finish at 34,792.76, while the NASDAQ dropped 278.41 points or 2.07 percent to close at 13,174.41 and the S&P 500 sank 65.79 points or 1.48 percent to end at 4,393.66.
The sharp pullback on Wall Street came as Treasury yields showed a notable move back to the upside after falling on Wednesday. The yield on the benchmark ten-year note more than offset yesterday's drop, reaching its highest closing level since December 2018.
Concerns about the outlook for interest rates contributed to the rebound by Treasury yields after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell told the International Monetary Fund that it would be appropriate to raise rates "a little more quickly" and predicted a 50 basis point rate hike would be on the table at the Fed's May meeting.
Early in the session, stocks benefited from some upbeat earnings news from the likes of Tesla (TSLA), American Airlines (AAL) and United Airlines (UAL).
In economic news, the Labor Department noted a slight decrease in first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits last week. Also, the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia said growth in Philadelphia-area manufacturing activity slowed more than expected in April.
Crude oil prices climbed higher Thursday, extending gains from the previous session amid concerns about global crude supply and strong demand in the U.S. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for June ended higher by $1.60 or 1.6 percent at $103.79 a barrel.
Closer to home, Taiwan will release March data for unemployment later today; in February, the jobless rate was 3.67 percent.
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