The Taiwan stock market has finished lower in two of three trading days since the end of the three-day winning streak in which it had jumped nearly 300 points or 2.4 percent. The Taiwan Stock Exchange now rests just above the 12,795-point plateau and it's expected to open under pressure again on Tuesday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is broadly negative on rising coronavirus concerns and the resulting slide in crude oil prices. The European and U.S. markets were firmly in the red and the Asian bourses are tipped to follow suit.
The TSE finished modestly lower on Monday following losses from the financial shares, technology stocks and cement companies.
For the day, the index sank 80.50 points or 0.63 percent to finish at 12,795.12 after trading between 12,795.09 and 12,952.31.
Among the actives, Cathay Financial skidded 1.01 percent, while Mega Financial shed 0.88 percent, CTBC Financial lost 0.54 percent, Fubon Financial retreated 1.05 percent, First Financial sank 0.96 percent, E Sun Financial declined 1.33 percent, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company dropped 0.90 percent, United Microelectronics Corporation tanked 2.52 percent, Hon Hai Precision eased 0.26 percent, Largan Precision rose 0.14 percent, Catcher Technology tumbled 2.97 percent, MediaTek advanced 0.82 percent, Formosa Plastic spiked 2.08 percent, Asia Cement plunged 1.87 percent and Taiwan Cement fell 0.59 percent.
The lead from Wall Street is soft as stocks opened sharply lower on Monday and remained in the red throughout the day, extending losses to a fourth straight session.
The Dow plummeted 509.72 points or 1.84 percent to finish at 27,147.70, while the NASDAQ dipped 14.48 points or 0.13 percent to end at 10,778.80 and the S&P 500 sank 38.41 points or 1.16 percent to close at 3,281.06.
The sell-off on Wall Street comes amid concerns about a renewed surge in coronavirus cases in Europe, with the U.K. reportedly considering another lockdown.
The death of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg may also be weighing on the markets, as a fight over the nomination of her replacement could lead to further delays in the passage of another coronavirus relief bill.
Crude oil prices fell sharply Monday on worries about outlook for energy demand amid rising coronavirus cases in Europe. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for October shed $1.80 or 4.4 percent to settle at $39.31 a barrel.
Closer to home, Taiwan will provide August unemployment data later today; in July, the jobless rate was 3.9 percent.
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