The Taiwan stock market has moved higher in four straight sessions, advancing more than 260 points or 1.8 percent along the way. The Taiwan Stock Exchange now rests just beneath the 15,640-point plateau although it's expected to open under pressure on Wednesday.
The global forecast for the Asian suggests consolidation on concerns over interest rates and possible recession. The European and U.S. markets were firmly lower and the Asian markets are tipped to follow that lead.
The TSE finished modestly higher again on Tuesday as the financial, technology and cement companies were mostly in the green.
For the day, the index gained 57.30 points or 0.37 percent to finish at 15,636.48 after trading between 15,532.63 and 15,651.23.
Among the actives, Cathay Financial was up 0.12 percent, while Mega Financial perked 0.15 percent, CTBC Financial climbed 1.33 percent, First Financial collected 0.37 percent, Fubon Financial lost 0.34 percent, E Sun Financial slid 0.20 percent, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company dipped 0.20 percent, United Microelectronics Corporation jumped 1.53 percent, Hon Hai Precision strengthened 1.44 percent, Largan Precision dropped 1.00 percent, Catcher Technology improved 0.83 percent, MediaTek advanced 0.90 percent, Delta Electronics shed 0.67 percent, Novatek Microelectronics rallied 1.67 percent, Nan Ya Plastics sank 0.64 percent, Asia Cement added 0.68 percent, Taiwan Cement surged 3.10 percent, China Steel gained 0.69 percent and Formosa Plastics was unchanged.
The lead from Wall Street is broadly negative as the major averages opened lower and moved deeper into the red as the day progressed, ending near session lows.
The Dow tumbled 367.17 points or 1.08 percent to finish at 33,684.17, while the NASDAQ sank 132.09 points or 1.08 percent to end at 12,080.51 and the S&P 500 dropped 48.29 points or 1.16 percent to close at 4,119.58.
The sell-off on Wall Street came as some traders looked to cash in on recent strength in the markets ahead of the Federal Reserve's monetary policy announcement later today.
With the Fed widely expected to raise interest rates by another 25 basis points, traders will pay close attention to the accompanying statement for clues about the outlook for rates.
Concerns about lawmakers' struggles to reach an agreement on raising the U.S. debt ceiling also weighed on Wall Street. U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has warned the Treasury might run out of money to cover obligations by June 1.
In economic news, the Commerce Department said new orders for U.S. manufactured goods increased more than expected in March. Also, the Labor Department showed job openings in the U.S. fell more than expected in March.
Crude oil prices tumbled on Tuesday on concerns about the outlook for energy demand amid fears of a potential recession in the U.S. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for June ended lower by $4.00 or 5.3 percent to $71.66 a barrel, the lowest close since March 24.
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