Taiwan Market: Continued Resistance Expected At 9,100 Points

(RTTNews) - The Taiwan stock market has finished higher now in four consecutive trading days, collecting almost 270 points or 3 percent along the way. The Taiwan Stock Exchange remained just below the 9,100-point plateau, although the market may be stuck in neutral on Wednesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is murky, thanks to conflicting data from the United States and slightly overbought markets that suggest profit taking. The European markets were higher and the U.S. bourses were mixed but little changed - and the Asian markets figure to follow the latter lead.

The TSE finished barely higher on Tuesday as gains from the financial shares were capped by weakness from the technology stocks.

For the day, the index gained 2.71 points or 0.03 percent to finish at 9,097.71 after trading between 9,093.43 and 9,138.15 on turnover of 69.28 billion Taiwan dollars.

Among the actives, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company shed 0.72 percent, while Hon Hai Precision Industry lost 0.80 percent, Formosa Plastics climbed 1.03 percent, Nan Ya Plastics jumped 1.30 percent, Fubon Financial advanced 1.01 percent and Mega Financial Holding collected 0.62 percent.

The lead from Wall Street provides little clarity as stocks turned in a lackluster performance on Tuesday following the release of a mixed batch of U.S. economic data. Despite the choppy trading, the Dow closed above 18,000 for the first time and set a new record closing high along with the S&P 500.

The NASDAQ fell 16.00 points or 0.3 percent to 4,765.42, while the Dow climbed 64.73 points or 0.4 percent to 18,024.17 and the S&P 500 edged up 3.63 points or 0.2 percent to 2,082.17.

Early buying interest was generated by a report from the Commerce Department showing much stronger than previously estimated third quarter GDP growth. But the Commerce Department also reported an unexpected decrease in durable goods orders and new home sales.

Relatively light trading activity also contributed to the lackluster performance, as some traders got a head start on the holidays.