The Taiwan stock market has finished lower in back-to-back sessions ahead of its presidential election, although it has given up just 7 points or 0.1 percent in that span. The Taiwan Stock Exchange finished just above the 7,180-point plateau, and now traders are facing a mixed lead when the market opens on Monday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets suggests consolidation after the latest round of downgrades in Europe by ratings agency Standard & Poor's. Soft quarterly earnings from JPMorgan are expected to add to the selling pressure, particularly in the financial sector, although steel, technology and gold stocks also are likely to decline. The European and U.S. markets ended firmly in the red on Friday and the Asian markets are expected to open in similar fashion.
But the re-election of pro-China and pro-business President Ma Ying-jeou on Saturday may provide the markets with a lift. The 61-year-old leader of the ruling Kuomintang Party defeated his main challenger Tsai Ing-wen, the Democratic Progressive Party candidate, by 51.6 percent to 45.7 percent.
The TSE finished barely lower on Friday, nudged into the red by losses from the paper, construction, textile, food and technology sectors. Cement and plastics stocks provided mild support, while the financial sector was unchanged.
For the day, the index eased 5.04 points or 0.07 percent to finish at 7,181.54 after trading between 7,169.92 and 7,249.94 on turnover of 97.84 billion Taiwan dollars.
Among the actives, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. added 0.65 percent, while HTC climbed 3.78 percent, Cathay Financial jumped 1.25 percent and Formosa Plastics collected 0.84 percent.
The lead from Wall Street is negative as renewed concerns about the financial situation in Europe contributed to notable weakness on Friday, although stocks ended the session well off their worst levels of the day due in part to the release of upbeat U.S. consumer sentiment data.
Stocks plunged in early trading as traders reacted to reports that Standard & Poor's was set to downgrade the credit ratings for several European nations. S&P had warned last month that several European countries could face ratings downgrades due to the agency's belief that systemic stresses had risen to the extent that they now put downward pressure on the credit standing of the Eurozone as a whole.
Those reports came to fruition later in the day when S&P lowered the long-term ratings on Cyprus, Italy, Portugal and Spain by two notches; lowered the long-term ratings on Austria, France, Malta, Slovakia, and Slovenia by one notch; and affirmed the long-term ratings on Belgium, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Ireland, Luxembourg and the Netherlands.
A negative reaction to quarterly results from JP Morgan (JPM) also generated some selling pressure, with the financial giant reporting a drop in fourth quarter earnings on weaker than expected revenues. Shares of JP Morgan fell by 2.5 percent on the news.
However, a report from Reuters and the University of Michigan showing a significant improvement in U.S. consumer sentiment in January helped to limit the downside for the markets. The consumer sentiment index jumped to 74.0 in January from the final December reading of 69.9. Economists had expected the index to edge up to 71.5. With the increase, the index reached its highest level since 74.3 last May.
Before the start of trading, the Commerce Department reported that the U.S. trade deficit widened by much more than anticipated in November. The Labor Department also reported a modest drop in import prices in December as well as decrease in export prices.
After moving sharply lower in early trading, the major averages regained some ground but still closed in the red. The Dow slipped 48.96 points or 0.4 percent to 12,422.06, the NASDAQ fell 14.03 points or 0.5 percent to 2,710.67 and the S&P 500 dipped 6.41 points or 0.5 percent to 1,289.09. Despite the losses on the day, the major averages all closed higher for the week. The Dow rose by 0.5 percent for the week, while the NASDAQ jumped 1.4 percent and the S&P 500 climbed 0.9 percent.
For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com
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.