The Taiwan stock market climbed higher again on Wednesday, one session after it had ended the two-day winning streak in which it had collected almost 100 points or 0.9 percent. The Taiwan Stock Exchange now rests just above the 11,0750-point plateau although it may spin its wheels on Thursday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is mixed to lower, with a drop in crude oil prices and trade war concerns limiting any upside. The European and U.S. markets were mostly in the red and the Asian bourses figure to follow suit.
The TSE finished modestly higher on Wednesday as the financial shares and technology stocks were mostly in the green.
For the day, the index advanced 91.81 points or 0.84 percent to finish at 11,075.25 after trading between 11,026.07 and 11,095.50 on turnover of 138.43 billion Taiwan dollars.
Among the actives, Cathay Financial collected 0.95 percent, while Fubon Financial perked 0.40 percent, CTBC Financial fell 0.23 percent, Mega Financial was up 0.18 percent, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company spiked 2.48 percent, Catcher Technology shed 0.53 percent, Largan Precision climbed 0.90 percent, Hon Hai Precision gained 0.71 percent, MediaTek added 0.73 percent, United Microelectronics Corporation picked up 0.56 percent, AsusTek Computer perked 0.37 percent, Chunghwa Telecom gathered 0.47 percent and AU Optronics was unchanged.
The lead from Wall Street is uninspired as stocks showed a lack of direction on Wednesday after trending higher over the past few sessions. The major averages bounced back and forth across the unchanged line before ending mixed.
The Dow shed 45.16 points or 0.18 percent to 25,583.75, while the NASDAQ added 4.66 points or 0.06 percent to 7,888.33 and the S&P 500 eased 0.75 points or 0.03 percent to 2,857.70.
The choppy trading followed the Chinese Ministry of Commerce's announcement of a 25 percent tariff on $16 billion worth of U.S. goods. The goods targeted by China include cars and motorcycles as well as various fuels and fiber optical cables.
The announcement by China came after the U.S. finalized a list of $16 billion worth of Chinese imports that will be subject to a 25 percent tariff. The second tranche of tariffs, due to take effect Aug. 23, follows the first tranche of tariffs on approximately $34 billion of Chinese imports that went into effect on July 6.
Crude oil prices declined sharply on Wednesday, registering the steepest single session slide in over three weeks, as the escalating U.S.-China trade dispute raised concerns about the outlook for global economic growth and demand for oil. Crude oil futures for September ended down $2.23 or 3.2 percent at $66.94 a barrel, a seven-week low.
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