The Taiwan stock market has finished lower now in consecutive trading days, giving away almost 40 points or 0.6 percent in the process. The Taiwan Stock Exchange finished just above the 7,090-point plateau, and now investors are expecting to see the losses accelerate at the opening of trade on Tuesday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is slightly soft as European, after German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy held a meeting ahead of a major summit of European leaders later this month. Uncertainty about the upcoming earnings season also contributed to the lackluster performance, as did some disappointing economic data from the U.S. The European markets finished lower and the U.S. bourses were mixed but little changed, and the Asian markets are expected to split the difference.
The TSE finished modestly lower on Monday following losses from the finance, technology, cement, construction and paper sectors.
For the day, the index lost 27.47 points or 0.38 percent to finish at 7,093.04 after trading between 7,050.25 and 7,103.09 on turnover of 70.39 billion Taiwan dollars.
Among the actives, E Ink plunged by the 7 percent daily limit, while Acer jumped 4.10 percent and Asustek climbed 1.09 percent.
The lead from Wall Street provides little clarity as stocks turned in a lackluster performance on Monday, with traders expressing continued uncertainty about the financial situation in Europe and the upcoming earnings season.
Traders kept a close eye on the latest developments in Europe, where German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy held a meeting ahead of a major summit of European leaders later this month. Merkel and Sarkozy indicated that they have made progress on an agreement to implement new budget rules for the euro zone. The leaders also called on Greece to complete its debt writedown with creditors as soon as possible.
Uncertainty about the upcoming earnings season also contributed to the lackluster performance, with Alcoa (AA) releasing its fourth quarter results after the close of trading. The release of quarterly results from Alcoa is seen as the unofficial start of earnings season. Shares of Alcoa rose by 3 percent ahead of the announcement.
Meanwhile, traders largely shrugged off a report from the Federal Reserve showing that consumer credit surged up by $20.4 billion in November following a revised $6 billion increase in October. Economists had expected credit to increase by about $7.6 billion.
Among individual stocks, shares of Inhibitex (INHX) moved sharply higher after the biopharmaceutical company agreed to be acquired by Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMY) in a deal valued at approximately $2.5 billion. Inhibitex surged up by 140 percent on the day. The deal values Inhibitex at $26 per share, a 163 percent premium to its closing price on Friday.
The major averages bounced back and forth across the unchanged line, eventually ending the session modestly higher. The Dow rose 32.77 points or 0.3 percent to 12,392.69, the NASDAQ edged up 2.34 points or 0.1 percent to 2,676.56 and the S&P 500 climbed 2.89 points or 0.2 percent to 1,280.70.
On the economic front, Taiwan's trade surplus declined in December while exports growth eased alongside a slower fall in imports, the Finance Ministry said on Monday. The trade balance was in a surplus of $2.32 billion during the month, compared to $3.2 billion in November. Economists were expecting an increase in the surplus to $2.74 billion.
The country's export growth eased for a second consecutive month to 0.6 percent annually in December from 1.3 percent in November. This confounded economists' expectations for a stronger growth in exports of 3.7 percent.
Meanwhile, imports decreased 2.7 percent year-on-year compared to expectations for a 1 percent fall. This followed a 10.4 percent drop in overseas purchases in November.
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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.