The Taiwan stock market has alternated between positive and negative finishes through the last five trading days since the end of the two-day winning streak in which it had surged almost 200 points or 2.8 percent. The Taiwan Stock Exchange finished just above the 7,475-point plateau, and now investors are bracing for continued carnage when the market kicks off trade on Thursday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets remains negative as reports suggest that the debt problems in Europe are growing worse. Greece is facing a political impasse after voters turned down the parties that accepted the international bailout terms. Also, Spanish banks were pummeled after borrowing costs spiked higher for Madrid. The European markets finished mostly lower and the U.S. bourses were firmly in the red - and the Asian markets also figure to track to the downside.
The TSE finished sharply lower on Wednesday following losses from the finance and technology sectors, in particular.
For the day, the index dropped 70.00 points or 0.93 percent to finish at 7,475.71 after trading between 7,448.90 and 7,513.71.
Among the decliners, E Ink plummeted by the 7 percent daily limit, while UMC and Quanta Computer both lost more than 1 percent.
The lead from Wall Street suggests consolidation as stocks moved lower on Wednesday, although they moved off of session lows later in the day. The early sell-off came as traders continued to express concerns about the recent elections in France and Greece and their potential impact on efforts to address the European debt crisis.
Investors kept a close eye on the political situation in Greece, where leftist leader Alexis Tsipras attempted to form a coalition government. Tsipras is opposed to the terms of the bailout by the European Union and the International Monetary Fund - although his efforts have been unsuccessful, however, with the debt-plagued nation potentially headed to a new round of elections in June.
Further selling pressure was generated by reports that Eurozone countries were debating a potential delay in a 5.2 billion euro bailout payment to Greece due to the ongoing political uncertainty. But subsequent reports contradicted the news from the Journal and helped the markets to recover, and the European Financial Stability Facility's Board of Directors later confirmed the payment.
In corporate news, shares of Disney (DIS) rose by 1.6 percent after the entertainment giant reported better than expected second quarter results, benefiting from strong performances by its media networks and theme parks.
The major averages ended the day firmly in negative territory, although well off their worst levels of the day. The Dow dropped 97.03 points or 0.8 percent to finish at 12,835.06, while the NASDAQ fell 11.56 points or 0.4 percent to end at 2,934.71, and the S&P 500 slid 9.14 points or 0.7 percent to 1,354.58.
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Market Analysis
June 12, 2026 17:14 ET Major central bank action was the focus this week in economic news. The European Central Bank became the first major central bank to move in response to the rising inflationary pressures in the backdrop of the conflict in the Middle East. In North America, the U.S. inflation and trade data as well as Canada’s central bank decision gained attention. The Chinese trade data was the main news in Asia.