The Taiwan stock market has finished lower in three straight sessions, giving away more than 105 points or 0.9 percent along the way. The Taiwan Stock Exchange remains just beneath the 11,150-point plateau although it may stop the bleeding on Wednesday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is mixed and flat ahead of key central bank meetings in the next few days. The European markets were slightly lower and the U.S. bourses were mixed and flat - and the Asian bourses figure to split the difference.
The TSE finished barely lower on Tuesday following losses from the financials, gains from the technology stocks and a mixed picture from the steel producers.
For the day, the index eased 4.44 points or 0.04 percent to finish at 11,144.79 after trading between 11,088.53 and 11,160.05 on turnover of 179.61 billion Taiwan dollars.
Among the actives, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company and Hon Hai Precision both added 0.34 percent, while Innolux gained 0.83 percent, Largan Precision tumbled 2.42 percent, AU Optronics picked up 0.38 percent, United Microelectronics perked 0.30 percent, CTBC Financial skidded 1.12 percent, Mega Financial shed 0.74 percent, Fubon Financial lost 0.37 percent, Cathay Financial fell 0.54 percent, First Financial dropped 0.95 percent, China Steel collected 0.21 percent, Taiwan Steel Union slid 0.44 percent and Chunghwa Telecom was unchanged.
The lead from Wall street is cautiously optimistic as stocks showed a lack of direction on Tuesday, bouncing back and forth across the unchanged line before ending mixed.
The Dow fell 1.58 points or 0.01 percent to 25,320.73, while the NASDAQ climbed 43.87 points or 0.57 percent to 7,703.79 and the S&P 500 rose 4.85 points or 0.17 percent to 2,786.85.
The soft performance came ahead of monetary policy announcements by the Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank. The Fed is widely expected to raise interest rates by 25 basis points on Wednesday, while the ECB may discuss ending its bond purchasing program on Thursday.
In economic news, the Labor Department reported a modest increase in consumer prices in May, while core CPI edged up to a 15-year high.
Traders largely shrugged off the meeting between President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un - who pledged to work together to "build a lasting and stable peace regime on the Korean Peninsula."
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