Taiwan’s equity market advanced for a fifth consecutive session, gaining nearly 950 points or 3.5 percent, though investors are expected to lock in gains on Tuesday. The Taiwan Stock Exchange remains just above the 28,300-point level.
The index rallied 322.89 points, or 1.15 percent, to a daily high of 28,303.78 after trading as low as 28,026.39, led by strength in financial and technology shares. E Sun Financial surged 4.40 percent, Taiwan Semiconductor rose 2.40 percent, and MediaTek climbed 1.05 percent, while Largan Precision fell 1.87 percent and Catcher Technology dropped 2.98 percent.
Regional sentiment remains cautious, with Asian markets forecast to trade flat to lower ahead of the FOMC meeting, as European bourses closed mixed and U.S. equities weakened.
Wall Street closed lower, with the Dow Jones dropping 215.67 points to 47,739.32, the Nasdaq shedding 32.22 points to 23,545.90, and the S&P 500 losing 23.89 points to 6,846.51. The modest pullback reflected profit-taking after the Nasdaq and S&P 500 reached their best closing levels in a month last Friday.
Trading activity remained subdued as investors await the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy decision on Wednesday. While a quarter-point rate cut is widely expected, traders will scrutinize the statement for clues on further cuts next year.
Crude oil prices slipped Monday as the U.S. dollar strengthened ahead of the Fed announcement. West Texas Intermediate for January delivery fell $1.28, or 2.13 percent, to $58.80 per barrel.
Later today, Taiwan will release November trade data, with imports expected to jump 17.5 percent year-over-year, exports forecast to grow 41.1 percent, and the trade surplus projected at $18.50 billion.
