The Taiwan stock market on Thursday halted the three-day winning streak in which it had collected almost 200 points or 2.7 percent. The Taiwan Stock Exchange now rests just above the 11,090-point plateau and it may take further damage on Friday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is negative thanks to renewed trade concerns. The European and U.S. markets were down and the Asian markets figure to follow suit.
The TSE finished slightly lower on Thursday as losses from the financials and cement stocks were mitigated by a mixed performance from the technology stocks.
For the day, the index eased 5.82 points or 0.05 percent to finish at 11,093.75 after trading between 11,080.07 and 11,186.05 on turnover of 112.22 billion Taiwan dollars.
Among the actives, Taiwan Cement plunged 3.23 percent, while Asia Cement plummeted 5.09 percent, Cathay Financial slid 0.76 percent, Fubon Financial fell 0.79 percent, CTBC Financial skidded 0.93 percent, Mega Financial and AsusTek Computer both eased 0.19 percent, Formosa Plastic retreated 1.32 percent, Chunghwa Telecom was down 0.92 percent, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company jumped 1.74 percent, Largan Precision shed 0.32 percent, Hon Hai Precision lost 0.61 percent, United Microelectronics Corporation declined 1.14 percent and AU Optronics picked up 0.76 percent.
The lead from Wall Street is soft as stocks fluctuated on Thursday before ending lower as the NASDAQ and the S&P 500 pulled back from record closing highs set a day earlier.
The Dow shed 137.65 points or 0.53 percent to finish at 25,986.92, the NASDAQ lost 21.32 points or 0.26 percent to 8,088.36 and the S&P 500 fell 12.91 points or 0.44 percent to 2,901.13.
The lower close followed reports that President Donald Trump intends to move ahead with plans to impose tariffs on $200 billion in Chinese imports as early as next week. Uncertainty about trade talks between the U.S. and Canada also weighed on the markets.
In economic news, the Labor Department noted a modest uptick in initial jobless claims in the week ended August 25th. Also, the Commerce Department said personal income and spending both increased in line with estimates in July.
Crude oil futures ended higher Thursday, amid signs of supply shortage after data showed a drop in U.S. crude inventories. Crude oil futures for October delivery ended up $0.74 or 1.1 percent at $70.25 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, the highest finish in seven weeks.
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