The Taiwan stock market has climbed higher in three straight sessions, gathering almost 190 points or 1.2 percent along the way. The Taiwan Stock Exchange now sits just beneath the 17,075-point plateau although it may be stuck in neutral on Thursday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets suggests consolidation, due mainly to profit taking and sinking crude oil prices. The European and U.S. markets were down and the Asian bourses are predicted to open in similar fashion.
The TSE finished modestly higher on Wednesday following gains from the plastics, while the financials and technology stocks were mostly in the red.
For the day, the index gained 40.21 points or 0.24 percent to finish at 17,074.55 after trading between 16,973.16 and 17,054.98.
Among the actives, Cathay Financial lost 0.68 percent, while Mega Financial dipped 0.30 percent, CTBC Financial sank 0.64 percent, Fubon Financial fell 0.66 percent, E Sun Financial collected 0.38 percent, United Microelectronics Corporation soared 3.51 percent, Hon Hai Precision dropped 0.92 percent, Largan Precision plunged 3.70 percent, Catcher Technology retreated 1.20 percent, MediaTek shed 0.42 percent, Formosa Plastic gained 0.91 percent, Asia Cement weakened 0.45 percent, Taiwan Cement eased 0.21 percent and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, Delta Electronics and First Financial were unchanged.
The lead from Wall Street offers little clarity as the major averages took different paths on Wednesday. The NASDAQ opened higher and finished the same way, albeit barely. The Dow spent most of the session in the red and the S&P 500 hugged the unchanged line before both ended in negative territory.
The Dow dropped 266.19 points or 0.74 percent to finish at 35,490.69, while the NASDAQ rose 0.12 points or 0.00 percent to close at 15,235.84 and the S&P 500 fell 23.11 points or 0.51 percent to end at 4,551.68.
While a mixed reaction to the latest earnings news contributed to choppy trading, traders also looked to cash in on recent strength in the markets in late-day trading as the Dow and S&P eased from record highs.
Corporate earnings were mixed as companies like Twitter (TWTR) and General Motors (GM) disappointed, while Microsoft (MSFT) and Google parent Alphabet (GOOGL) beat the street.
On the U.S. economic front, the Commerce Department said durable goods orders pulled back by much less than expected in September.
Crude oil prices sank Wednesday after data showed a larger than expected increase in U.S. crude stockpiles last week. Oil prices were also weighed down by prospects of Iran freeing itself from U.S. sanctions and start selling oil to major importers again. West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures for December were down by $1.99 or 2.3 percent at $82.66 a barrel.
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