(RTTNews) – The Taiwan stock market on Wednesday ended the two-day slide in which it had dropped more than 1,300 points or 2.9 percent. The Taiwan Stock Exchange now sits just above the 45,730-point plateau and it’s looking at a steady start on Thursday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is negative thanks to renewed hostilities in the Middle East. The European markets were down and the U.S. bourses were mixed and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.
The TSE finished modestly higher on Wednesday following mixed performances from the financial shares and the technology stocks.
For the day, the index gained 255.30 points or 0.56 percent to finish at 45,734.41 after trading between 45,036.64 and 45,837.12.
The lead from Wall Street is weak as the major averages spent most of the day in the red before finally ending the session mixed.
The Dow tumbled 576.76 points or 1.09 percent to finish at 52,348.39, while the NASDAQ rose 51.96 points or 0.20 percent to close at 25,870.65 and the S&P 500 slipped 21.14 points or 0.28 percent to end at 7,482.71.
The early weakness on Wall Street came amid concerns about a re-escalation of the conflict in the Middle East after President Donald Trump declared the U.S.-Iran ceasefire “over.”
Crude oil prices skyrocketed on Wednesday amid renewed Middle East tensions after the U.S. and Iran exchanged fresh strikes. West Texas Intermediate crude for August delivery was up $3.16 or 4.49 percent at $73.60 per barrel.
However, stocks regained ground over the course of the session as crude oil prices pullback off their highs of the session.
Housing stocks moved sharply lower on concerns about the outlook for interest rates, dragging the Philadelphia Housing Sector Index down by 3.8 percent. Substantial weakness was also visible among gold stocks, which tumbled along with the price of the precious metal.
Closer to home, Taiwan will provide June data for imports, exports and trade balance later today. Imports are expected to surge 47.8 percent on year, easing from 54.9 percent in May. Exports are called higher by an annual 48.6 percent, down from 51.7 percent in the previous month. The trade surplus is pegged at $19.30 billion, up from $17.91 billion a month earlier.
