The losing streak for the Taiwan stock market has stretched to four sessions now, costing it more than 325 points or 4.2 percent en route to a fresh one-month closing low. The Taiwan Stock Exchange is clinging to support at the 7,340-point plateau, but now analysts are expecting a steep decline at the opening of trade on Monday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is firmly lower, with commodities expected to act as a key drag following steep losses in international play over the weekend. Financials, properties, pharmaceuticals and technology stocks also are likely to see some heavy selling. The European and U.S. markets ended sharply lower on Friday, and the Asian bourses are projected to follow that same path on Monday.
The TSE finished slightly lower on Friday, nudged into negative territory by weakness among the technology sector.
For the day, the index eased 15.61 points or 0.21 percent to finish at 7,340.08 after trading between 7,340.08 and 7,433.21 on turnover of 101 billion Taiwan dollars.
Among the actives, TSMC shed 0.5 percent and Mediatek lost 1.38 percent, while AU Optronics was flat and Compal Electronics added 3.9 percent, Asustek climbed 2.01 percent and Hannstar Display surged 6 percent.
The lead from Wall Street is sharply negative as stocks saw a sharp pullback on Friday, with a batch of mixed economic data raising questions regarding the economic recovery. The major averages all closed in negative territory by substantial margins, more than offsetting the strong gains posted in the previous session.
Reuters and the University of Michigan upwardly revised their reading on consumer sentiment in the month of October to 70.6, but the index still came in below the final reading of 73.5 in September. Further, the Commerce Department reported that personal spending decreased in September, while personal income came in nearly unchanged, as meager conditions in the labor market continue to impact consumers' bottom line.
Meanwhile, one of the few bright spots one the economic front came as the Institute for Supply Management - Chicago said that activity in the Chicago-area manufacturing sector unexpectedly expanded in the month of October. The headline figure jumped to 54.2 in September from the previous month's level of 46.1, reaching its highest level in over a year.
The major averages remained stuck firmly in the red going into the close, ending the session near their worst levels of the day. The Dow closed down by 249.85 points or 2.5 percent at 9,712.73, the NASDAQ fell by 52.44 points or 2.5 percent to 2,045.11 and the S&P 500 slipped by 29.92 points or 2.8 percent to 1,036.19.
With the sell-off on the day, the major averages all closed sharply lower for the week, adding to the modest losses posted last week. The Dow fell 2.6 percent for the week, while the NASDAQ and the S&P 500 posted weekly losses of 5.1 percent and 4 percent, respectively.
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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.