The Taiwan stock market has alternated between positive and negative finishes through the last four trading days since the end of the two-day winning streak in which it had gathered almost 30 points or 0.3 percent. The Taiwan Stock Exchange now rests just above the 10,425-point plateau although it may tick lower again on Tuesday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is unclear, thanks to a lack of catalysts, although crude oil will likely limit any downside. The European and U.S. bourses were mixed but little changed and the Asian markets figure to follow suit.
The TSE finished barely higher on Monday following gains from the technology stocks and a mixed performance from the financial sector.
For the day, the index collected 4.28 points or 0.04 percent to finish at the daily high of 10,427.33 after moving as low as 10,366.17 on turnover of 95.56 billion Taiwan dollars.
Among the actives, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company added 0.70 percent, while AU Optronics advanced 0.83 percent, Largan Precision climbed 1.19 percent, Innolux jumped 1.03 percent, Advanced Semiconductor Engineering and Hon Hai Precision were unchanged, Cathay Financial shed 0.30 percent, Fubon Financial collected 0.32 percent, Mega Financial lost 0.20 percent and Taiwan Cement fell 0.57 percent.
The lead from Wall Street is of little help as stocks opened higher Monday before fading and ending mixed - although the Dow hit a fresh record closing high.
The Dow climbed 60.81 points or 0.3 percent to 21,891.12, while the NASDAQ fell 26.55 points or 0.4 percent to 6,348.12 and the S&P eased 1.80 points or 0.1 percent to 2,470.30.
The choppy trading came as traders seemed reluctant to make significant moves ahead of Friday's monthly jobs report.
In economic news, the National Association of Realtors said pending home sales rebounded more than expected in June. Also, MNI Indicators reported growth in Chicago business activity slowed more than expected in July.
Crude oil futures rebounded from early losses Monday, creeping closer to $50 for the first time this summer. Helped also by a weak U.S. dollar, U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures were up 7 cents at $49.78 a barrel. Crude oil jumped more than 8 percent in July.
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Market Analysis
April 17, 2026 15:29 ET The ongoing conflict in the Middle East continues to raise concerns for policymakers who worry about the impact of the supply shock and high energy prices on the real economy. Producer price data and various survey results on the housing market were the main news from the U.S. this week. In Europe, industrial production data for the euro area gained attention. GDP figures out of China and the policy move by the Singapore central bank were in focus in Asia.