The Taiwan stock market has finished lower in two of three trading days since the end of the two-day winning streak in which it had advanced almost 100 points or 1 percent. The Taiwan Stock Exchange now rests just above the 10,465-point plateau and it may extend its losses on Wednesday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is soft, with profit taking expected after showing strength earlier in the week. The European and U.S. markets were down and the Asian bourses figure to follow suit.
The TSE finished modestly lower on Tuesday as losses from the technology stocks were tempered by support from the financials and cement companies.
For the day, the index lost 39.18 points or 0.37 percent to finish at 10,467.34 after trading between 10,452.08 and 10,544.00 on turnover of 111.53 billion Taiwan dollars.
Among the actives, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company shed 0.88 percent, while Innolux and AU Optronics both skidded 1.20 percent, Largan Precision tumbled 2.90 percent, Hon Hai Precision plunged 2.56 percent, Cathay Financial jumped 1.87 percent, Mega Financial lost 0.42 percent, China Development Financial climbed 1.32 percent, Fubon Financial collected 0.20 percent, Taiwan Cement spiked 1.03 percent, Taiwan Steel surged 8.47 percent and China Steel fell 0.41 percent.
The lead from Wall Street is negative as stocks gave ground on Tuesday after climbing to record highs in the previous session.
The Dow dipped 37.45 points or 0.15 percent to 24,754.75, while the NASDAQ slid 30.91 points or 0.44 percent to 6,963.85 and the S&P 500 fell 8.69 points or 0.32 percent to 2,681.47.
Profit taking contributed to the weakness on Wall Street, as traders cashed in on the strength seen in recent sessions. Selling pressure was subdued, however, as House Republicans voted to approve the first major tax reform legislation in decades.
The approval of the legislation comes even though recent polls show a majority of Americans disapprove of the bill. Republicans claim that the bill will lead to stronger economic growth, while Democrats argue the legislation will give tax cuts to the wealthy at the expense of the middle class.
In economic news, the Commerce Department noted an unexpected increase in housing starts in November. Housing starts jumped 3.3 percent to an annual rate of 1.297 million in November from a revised 1.256 million in October. Economists had expected housing starts to drop by 3.7 percent.
Crude oil futures nudged higher Tuesday amid mixed signals on global production next year. OPEC says it will continue to curb production in an effort to re-balance oil markets, but U.S. shale output may surge. WTI light sweet crude oil was up 31 cents at $57.47 a barrel.
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