FX.co ★ Taiwan Bourse May See Profit Taking On Monday

The stock market in Taiwan has seen consistent growth for two consecutive periods, gaining over 440 points, equivalent to a 2.2 percent increase. The Taiwan Stock Exchange is now just shy of the 20,230-point threshold, though it is likely that investors may want to cash in their earnings soon.

The global prognosis for Asian markets is fairly neutral with a tug of war between the robustness of technology stocks and the relative frailty of oil companies, mirroring the mixed outcomes seen in European and U.S. markets.

On Friday, the Taiwan Stock Exchange (TSE) closed slightly up, revealing contrasting performances from finance and tech stocks, with plastics firms showing signs of weakness.

The TSE added 29.34 points, a 0.15 percent increase, ending at 20,228.43 after trading between 20,084.31 and 20,296.10.

Breaking down the performances, Mega Financial fell 1.23 percent, CTBC Financial contracted 0.16 percent, while First Financial grew 0.18 percent. Conversely, Fubon Financial dropped 1.56 percent, with E Sun Financial increasing 1.31 percent. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company saw a modest rise of 0.13 percent, United Microelectronics Corporation tumbled 1.69 percent, while Hon Hai Precision rallied 2.11 percent.

In tech, Largan Precision dropped 1.61 percent, Catcher Technology plummeted 4.46 percent, MediaTek declined 1.32 percent, and Delta Electronics surged 5.92 percent, while Novatek Microelectronics fell 0.34 percent.

For plastic, Formosa Plastics shed 0.59 percent, Nan Ya Plastics slid 0.36 percent, while Asia Cement lost 0.47 percent, and Taiwan Cement fell by 0.31 percent. China Steel, however, added 0.42 percent, and Cathay Financial remained unchanged.

Wall Street's influence remains unclear, with the Dow and S&P 500 slipping slightly on Friday, while the NASDAQ increased modestly.

The Dow fell 305.50 points, a 0.77 percent drop, to end at 39,475.90, while the NASDAQ added 27.02 points or 0.16 percent to close at 16,428.82. The S&P 500 dipped by 7.35 points or 0.14 percent to conclude at 5,234.18. Overall, the NASDAQ spiked 2.9 percent, the S&P 500 surged 2.3 percent, and the Dow increased by 2.0 percent week over week.

Traders looking to capitalize on recent market strength initiated some profit-taking practices, contributing to minor market weakness. Despite some selling pressure, most remain optimistic, considering the Federal Reserve's recent announcements on monetary policy. Uncertainty persists around the timing of the first rate hike, though expectations for a quarter point rate cut in June are on the rise, hitting 66.5 percent according to CME Group's FedWatch Tool.

Nvidia, a major player on the NASDAQ, saw the chip manufacturer grow by 3.1 percent, closing at a record high.

Conversely, oil prices fell as a strong dollar and the Federal Reserve's commitment to keeping interest rates increase made an impact. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for May ended $0.44 lower at $80.63 per barrel.