The Taiwan stock market on Wednesday snapped the three-day winning streak in which it had jumped more than 200 points or 1.8 percent. The Taiwan Stock Exchange now rests just above the 11,630-point plateau and it's looking at another sift start again on Thursday.
The global forecast is soft thanks to ongoing melodrama regarding a possible trade agreement between the United States and China. The European and U.S. markets were down and the Asian bourses are tipped to follow suit.
The TSE finished modestly lower on Wednesday as losses from the financial shares and technology stocks were mitigated by support from the cement companies.
For the day, the index dipped 25.20 points or 0.22 percent to finish at 11,631.20 after trading between 11,591.73 and 11,649.07.
Among the actives, Cathay Financial retreated 0.94 percent, while Mega Financial eased 0.16 percent, CTBC Financial shed 0.45 percent, Fubon Financial fell 0.22 percent, E Sun Financial lost 0.36 percent, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company shed 0.48 percent, United Microelectronics Corporation climbed 1.37 percent, Hon Hai Precision dropped 0.97 percent, Largan Precision sank 1.44 percent, Catcher Technology plunged 1.62 percent, MediaTek skidded 1.54 percent, Asia Cement soared 2.55 percent, Taiwan Cement jumped 1.31 percent, Formosa Plastic was down 0.92 percent and First Financial was unchanged.
The lead from Wall Street is negative as stocks opened sharply lower on Wednesday, made back some ground as the day progressed but still finished firmly in the red.
The Dow shed 112.93 points or 0.40 percent to 27,821.09, while the NASDAQ lost 43.93 points or 0.51 percent to 8,526.73 and the S&P 500 fell 11.72 points or 0.38 percent to 3,108.46.
Renewed uncertainty about a U.S.-China trade deal weighed on the markets following reports that trade talks are in danger of hitting an impasse, derailing the Trump administration's plan for a limited phase one deal this year.
However, stocks climbed well off their lows of the session as traders have recently shown a knack for shrugging off negative news on the trade front amid unshakable optimism a deal will eventually get done.
Crude oil futures rebounded Wednesday and recovered Tuesday's heavy losses after official data showed crude stockpiles in the U.S. rose less than expected last week. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for December ended up $1.90 or 3.4 percent at $57.11 a barrel on expiration day.
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