The Taiwan stock market has climbed higher in three straight sessions, gathering almost 1580 points or 1.7 percent along the way. Now at a fresh 28-year closing high, the Taiwan Stock Exchange now rests just above the 10,980-point plateau - although investors figure to cash in on Wednesday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is soft thanks to expected profit taking after recent strength - while a fall in crude oil prices adds to the negative sentiment. The European markets were mixed and the U.S. bourses were down and the Asian markets figure to follow the latter lead.
The TSE finished modestly higher on Tuesday as the financial shares and the technology stocks ended mostly in the green.
For the day, the index collected 29.80 points or 0.27 percent to finish at the daily high of 10,986.11 after moving as low as 10,920.50 on turnover of 130.72 billion Taiwan dollars.
Among the actives, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company added 0.21 percent, while AU Optronics spiked 2.35 percent, Hon Hai Precision was up 0.11 percent, Innolux surged 4.56 percent, Largan Precision shed 0.74 percent, Fubon Financial climbed 1.29 percent, Mega Financial dipped 0.39 percent, Cathay Financial collected 0.18 percent, Chang Hwa Commercial Bank gathered 0.58 percent, China Steel picked up 0.4 0 percent and Taiwan Steel plummeted 3.22 percent.
The lead from Wall Street is negative as stocks shrugged off an early move to the upside on Tuesday to finish in the red.
The Dow shed 10.33 points or 0.04 percent to 25,792.86, while the NASDAQ fell 37.38 points or 0.51 percent to 7,223.69 and the S&P 500 slid 9.82 points or 0.35 percent to 2,776.42.
Profit taking likely contributed to the pullback by stocks, although the decline was relatively subdued compared to the recent strength.
The initial upward movement by stocks came as traders expressed about the economic outlook and the impending earnings season following better than expected quarterly results from Dow components Citigroup (C) and UnitedHealth (UNH).
Crude oil futures edged lower Tuesday for the first time in six sessions, as the dollar stabilized from three-year lows. WTI light sweet crude oil fell 57 cents or 0.9 percent to $63.73/bbl, easing from the highest since 2014.
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