The Taiwan stock market on Friday wrote a finish to the five-day winning streak in which it had surged almost 290 points or 3 percent. The Taiwan Stock Exchange now rests just above the 9,460-point plateau, and the market is looking at further damage on Monday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is broadly negative as it appears imminent that Greece will default on a critical debt payment due at the end of the month.
Negotiations with international creditors have failed to produce a solution, and the Greek government has now approved a referendum set for July 5 to decide whether or not to accept the bailout terms - and financial markets are not expected to react favorably.
The TSE finished slightly lower on Friday as losses in the technology sector was mitigated by support from the financials and textiles.
For the day, the index slipped 13.77 points or 0.15 percent to finish at 9,462.57 after trading between 9,442.94 and 9,487.29 on turnover of 83.59 billion Taiwan dollars.
Among the actives, Largan Precision shed 1.51 percent, while MediaTek dropped 1.73 percent, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company dipped 0.34 percent, Hon Hai Precision Industry added 0.20 percent, Advanced Semiconductor Engineering gained 0.81 percent, Standard Foods jumped 2.80 percent, Far Eastern New Century advanced 0.31 percent and Cathay Financial Holding collected 0.92 percent.
The lead from Wall Street offers little clarity as the markets were mixed but little changed on Friday as traders responded to the latest news out of Greece.
The Dow rose 56.66 points or 0.3 percent to 17,947.02, while the NASDAQ slid 31.68 points or 0.6 percent to 5,080.51 and the S&P 500 eased 0.70 points or less than a tenth of a percent to 2,101.61. For the week, the NASDAQ dropped 0.7 percent, while the Dow and S&P 500 both fell 0.4 percent.
The lackluster performance came as traders remained focused on the situation in Greece, as the debt-laden country and its creditors continue to struggle to reach an agreement.
Amid the focus on Greece, traders shrugged off a report from the University of Michigan showing that U.S. consumer sentiment has improved by more than previously estimated in June.
For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com
Market Analysis