The Taiwan stock market has moved to the downside now in three consecutive trading days, retreating almost 170 points or 2.5 percent along the way. The Taiwan Stock Exchange ended just above the 7,165-point plateau, and now analysts are forecasting continued selling pressure at the opening of trade on Tuesday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets remains negative on lingering concerns about the ongoing European debt crisis. Spain has now formally asked for a bailout to shore up its ailing banking sector, and it was quickly followed by a similar request from Cyprus. In addition, Moody's downgraded 28 Spanish banks - although better than expected economic data from the U.S. may provide support. The European and U.S. markets finished sharply mower, and the Asian bourses are also expected to open in the red.
The TSE finished modestly lower on Monday following losses from the plastic, technology, food, cement, finance, construction, paper and textile sectors.
For the day, the index dropped 55.67 points or 0.77 percent to finish at 7,166.38 after trading between 7,157.90 and 7,222.61 on turnover of 55.85 billion Taiwan dollars. There were 2,515 decliners and 1,209 gainers, with 359 stocks finishing unchanged.
Among the decliners, Formosa Plastics shed 2.20 percent, while Nan Ya Plastics dropped 4 percent, Formosa Petrochemical fell 2.33 percent, HTC Corp lost 1.94 percent, Largan Precision retreated 2.12 percent and TPK Holding plunged 2.95 percent.
The lead from Wall Street suggests continued consolidation as stocks moved sharply lower during trading on Monday after seeing considerable volatility last week. Lingering concerns about the ongoing European debt crisis weighed on the markets amid worries about the impact on the global economy.
The sell-off came as traders kept a close eye on the latest developments in Europe, where Spain formally asked for a bailout to shore up its ailing banking sector. Europe is likely to remain in focus throughout the week, as European leaders are due to hold a summit to discuss the ongoing debt crisis on Thursday and Friday.
Meanwhile, traders largely shrugged off a report from the Commerce Department showing a bigger than expected increase in U.S. new home sales.
The report showed sales of new single-family homes at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 369,000 in May, a 7.6 percent increase from the revised April rate of 343,000. Economists had expected new home sales to climb to 350,000. With the much bigger than expected increase, new home sales in May came in at their highest level since April of 2010.
After moving sharply lower in early trading, the major averages remained stuck firmly in the red throughout the session. The Dow fell 138.12 points or 1.1 percent to finish at 12,502.66, while the NASDAQ tumbled 56.26 points or 2 percent to end at 2,836.16 and the S&P 500 slid 21.30 points or 1.6 percent to 1,313.72.
In economic news, industrial production in Taiwan decreased 0.21 percent on year in May, the Ministry of External Affairs said on Monday, slower than the 1.78 percent decline seen in April. In March, output decreased 3.43 percent. Economists were looking for a 2.5 percent decline.
Production in the manufacturing industry dropped 0.37 percent year-on-year, after falling 2.02 percent in the previous month. Mining and quarrying production, meanwhile, rose 5.10 percent annually, while output of electricity and gas edged up 0.63 percent, data showed.
For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com
Market Analysis
June 05, 2026 16:18 ET A busy week for economic news flow saw a slew of reports being released that reflected the trends in the U.S. labor market. In Europe, economic growth and inflation data gained attention as the European Central Bank and Bank of England head for policy session later in the month. In Asia, the monetary policy session of the Indian central bank was in focus as the country, a major oil importer, reels under the pressures of a weaker rupee and rising inflation.