(RTTNews) - The Taiwan stock market has finished lower in three straight sessions, sliding almost 900 points or 2.8 percent along the way. The Taiwan Stock Exchange now sits just beneath the 32,520-point plateau although it may see a mild recovery on Tuesday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is mixed to higher, with bargain hunting likely offset by oil prices and war concerns. The European markets were up and the U.S. bourses were mixed and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.
The TSE finished sharply lower on Monday following losses from the financial shares and technology stocks, while the plastics companies were up.
For the day, the index tumbled 594.43 points or 1.80 percent to finish at 32,518.16 after trading between 32,326.37 and 33,009.68.
Among the actives, Mega Financial skidded 1.15 percent, while First Financial dropped 1.05 percent, E Sun Financial shed 0.62 percent, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company tumbled 2.20 percent, United Microelectronics Corporation slumped 1.38 percent, Hon Hai Precision tanked 2.76 percent, Largan Precision contracted 1.80 percent, Catcher Technology declined 1.56 percent, MediaTek plummeted 4.73 percent, Delta Electronics retreated 1.66 percent, Novatek Microelectronics stumbled 2.01 percent, Formosa Plastics rallied 2.88 percent, Nan Ya Plastics skyrocketed 9.70 percent, Asia Cement jumped 1.74 percent and Cathay Financial, CTBC Financial and Fubon Financial were unchanged.
The lead from Wall Street offers little clarity as the major averages opened higher on Monday but faded as the day progressed and ended mixed.
The Dow added 49.50 points or 0.11 percent to finish at 45,216.14, while the NASDAQ slumped 153.72 points or 0.73 percent to end at 20,794.64 and the S&P 500 sank 25.13 points or 0.39 percent to close at 6,343.72.
Bargain hunting contributed to the initial strength on Wall Street, as some traders looked to pick up stocks at reduced levels following recent weakness.
Optimistic comments from President Donald Trump about the war in the Middle East also generated some early buying interest - but that optimism was short-lived after Trump threatened Iran with obliteration.
Buying interest waned over the course of the session, however, as the price of crude oil saw further upside amid ongoing concerns about the impact of the Middle East war.
Crude oil prices catapulted on Monday as the gulf region remains enveloped in war tension after the U.S. sends more soldiers to the area as Trump warned Iran to open the Strait of Hormuz. West Texas Intermediate crude for May delivery was up $3.05 or 3.06 percent at $102.69 per barrel.
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