The Taiwan stock market has moved lower in two of three sessions since the end of the three-day winning streak in which it had picked up more than 200 points or 2 percent. The Taiwan Stock Exchange now rests just beneath the 9,720-point plateau and it's expected to remain rangebound again on Wednesday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is mixed to higher, due mainly to bargain hunting after heavy losses in recent sessions. The European markets were down and the U.S. bourses were up and the Asian markets are tipped to follow the latter lead.
The TSE finished modestly lower on Tuesday following losses from the financial shares, cement stocks and technology companies.
For the day, the index lost 68.71 points or 0.70 percent to finish at 9,718.82 after trading between 9,701.10 and 9,756.67 on turnover of 94.19 billion Taiwan dollars.
Among the actives, CTBC Financial was down 0.99 percent, while Fubon Financial retreated 1.47 percent, Mega Financial gave away 0.78 percent, E. Sun Financial tumbled 1.72 percent, Cathay Financial fell 1.05 percent, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company shed 0.45 percent, United Microelectronics Corporation contracted 1.75 percent, Hon Hai Precision lost 0.42 percent, Largan Precision skidded 1.52 percent, AU Optronics added 0.81 percent, Taiwan Cement slid 0.97 percent, Asia Cement dropped 1.15 percent, Formosa Plastics declined 1.31 percent and AsusTek Computer and China Steel were unchanged.
The lead from Wall Street is cautiously optimistic as stocks experienced substantial volatility on Tuesday, fluctuating wildly before closing in positive territory.
The Dow added 82.66 points or 0.35 percent to 23,675.64, while the NASDAQ gained 30.18 points or 0.45 percent to 6,783.91 and the S&P was up 0.22 points or 0.01 percent to 2,546.16.
The initial strength on Wall Street was partly due to bargain hunting, with traders picking up stocks at reduced levels on the heels of the sharp drop in the two previous sessions.
The subsequent volatility came as traders remained on edge ahead of Wednesday's Federal Reserve monetary policy announcement. With the Fed widely expected to raise interest rates by a quarter point, traders will closely scrutinize the central bank's accompanying statement and forecasts for clues about future rate hikes.
In economic news, the Commerce Department noted a substantial increase in U.S. housing starts in November, while building permits also surged.
Crude oil prices plunged sharply on Tuesday amid rising concerns about excess supply in the market. For the month of January, futures plummeted $3.64 or 7.3 percent to $46.24 per barrel.
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Market Analysis
December 19, 2025 15:10 ET U.S. inflation data and interest rate decisions by major central banks were the highlights of this busy week for economics news flow. Employment data and survey results on the housing markets also gained attention in the U.S. In Europe, the European Central Bank and Bank of England announced their policy decisions and macroeconomic projections.