The Taiwan stock market on Monday snapped the three-day winning streak in which it had climbed almost 130 points or 1.3 percent. The Taiwan Stock Exchange now rests just beneath the 10,480-point plateau and it's likely to hold steady in that neighborhood again on Tuesday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is flat with a touch of upside on bargain hunting after heavy selling in the previous session. The European markets were slightly lower and the U.S. bourses were mixed and barely changed and the Asian markets are tipped to follow the latter lead.
The TSE finished sharply lower on Monday following losses from the financial shares and technology stocks, although the cement stocks offered support.
For the day, the index dropped 159.59 points or 1.50 percent to finish with 10,479.48 after trading between 10,458.79 and 10,535.12.
Among the actives, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company skidded 2.82 percent, while United Microelectronics Corporation dropped 1.27 percent, Hon Hai Precision retreated 2.47 percent, AsusTek Computer plunged 3.95 percent, Largan Precision shed 3.64 percent, MediaTek sank 2.64 percent, Catcher Technology fell 2.16 percent, Cathay Financial declined 1.73 percent, Mega Financial dipped 0.89 percent, CTBC Financial contracted 1.44 percent, Fubon Financial was down 1.83 percent, First Financial eased 0.95 percent, Asia Cement climbed 1.27 percent, Taiwan Cement surged 4.65 percent, Formosa Plastic dipped 0.93 percent and Taishin Financial was unchanged.
The lead from Wall Street offers little clarity as stocks showed a lack of direction on Monday, bouncing back and forth across the unchanged line before closing mixed.
The Dow added 14.51 points or 0.06 percent to 25,516.83, while the NASDAQ lost 5.13 points or 0.07 percent to 7,637.54 and the S&P 500 fell 2.35 points or 0.08 percent to 2,798.36.
Traders were reluctant to take long positions ahead of the latest round of high-level trade talks between the U.S. and China this week in Beijing.
Meanwhile, lingering concerns about the outlook for the economy continued to weigh on the markets after dragging stocks sharply lower last Friday.
An inversion of the yield curve contributed to economic worries, with the yield on the benchmark ten-year note falling below the yield on three-month bills. The inverted yield curve has not occurred since 2007 and is seen by many as an indication that a recession is on the way.
Crude oil prices dipped on Monday, as fears of a drop in energy demand due to global economic slowdown outweighed optimism over OPEC-led supply cuts and the U.S. sanctions on Iran and Venezuela. West Texas Crude oil futures for May ended down $0.22 or 0.4 percent at $58.82 a barrel.
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