The Taiwan stock market posted losses in three of five trading days last week – including in each of the last two sessions – and now analysts expect the Taiwan Stock Exchange to continue that trend of decline for at least another day when the market opens for business on Monday. But the TSE is likely to stay within a fairly tight range, according to forecasts.
The forecast is negative for markets throughout the region as crude oil finished Friday at a fresh record high – putting on more than $10 per barrel last week, so consumers have less cash on hand for other spending and dragging down the U.S. stock markets. Also lending negative sentiment was news that the U.S. trade deficit narrowed by much more than economists had been expecting – but mostly due a decrease in the value of imports, which reflects the slowdown in U.S. consumer spending. Investors also may worry about U.S. CPI data, which is due out on Wednesday.
In line with other regional bourses, the market was modestly lower on Friday as the financials, technology and electronics were under heavy selling pressure throughout the session – although strength from the food and tourism stocks minimized the losses. For the week, the index shed 171.24 points or 1.91 percent.
For the day, the index lost 74.23 points or 0.84 percent to close at 8,792.39 after trading between 8,792.39 and 8,896.31 on turnover of 131.53 billion Taiwan dollars. There were 1,568 decliners and 773 gainers, with 322 stocks remaining unchanged.
Among the decliners, ProMOS Technologies fell 3.44 percent, while United Microelectronics slipped 0.25 percent, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co fell 1.78 percent, AU Optronics fell 1.82 percent, Taishin Financial shed 5.70 percent and SinoPac Holdings declined 3.06 percent. Bucking the trend, Ambassador Hotel rose 4.02 percent.
The market inherits weakness from Wall Street as stocks ended Friday’s session considerably lower with credit concerns once again in focus. Continued inflation concerns also added selling pressure to the markets.
AIG said that it swung to a wider than expected first quarter loss, hurt by hefty unrealized market valuation losses on credit swaps as well as capital losses from its investment portfolio. The loss by AIG has once again raised concerns about the health of the economy, as companies continue to grapple with the weak housing market and the fallout from the credit crunch.
The major averages tried to stage a recovery in the final hour of the day but the attempt was unsuccessful. The Dow closed down 120.90 points or 0.9 percent at 12,745.88, the Nasdaq closed down 5.72 points or 0.2 percent at 2,445.52 and the S&P 500 closed down 9.40 points or 0.7 percent at 1,388.28.
With the losses on Friday, the major averages all closed lower for the week after posting notable gains last week. The Dow posted a weekly loss of 2.4 percent, while the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 fell 1.3 percent and 1.8 percent, respectively.
In corporate news, contract chip maker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp saw its sales in jump 24.8 percent on year, the company said on Friday, and up 5.8 percent on month to 28 billion Taiwan dollars. Revenues for January to April 2008 were up 32 percent on year to 113 billion Taiwan dollars.
Also, Yangming Marine Transport Corp will expand its fleet from the current 96 vessels to at least 125 by 2012, the company said on Friday. Yangming has placed orders with Taiwan's China Shipbuilding Corp to build 17 ships, which will be delivered in 2008 and the rest delivered before 2012. Yangming has also signed 5 to 10-year contracts to lease container ships from foreign ship owners, the company said.
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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.