Taiwan equities finished the session in negative territory on Tuesday, with the Taiwan Weighted index down 0.54% at the close. Sector pressures were concentrated in Biotech & Medical Care and Transport, which were cited as leading the market lower.
At the individual stock level, BenQ Materials Corp (TW:8215) was among the strongest performers, advancing 10.00% or 2.05 points to close at 22.55. Ta Liang Technology Co Ltd (TW:3167) also rose 10.00% or 35.50 points to finish at 390.50, and PCL Technologies Inc (TW:4977) gained 10.00% or 17.00 points to end the day at 187.00.
On the downside, Innolux Corp (TW:3481) led losses by sliding 9.86% or 3.25 points to close at 29.70. TYC Brother Industrial Co Ltd (TW:1522) declined 9.27% or 3.75 points to finish at 36.70, while CMC Magnetics Corp (TW:2323) dropped 7.89% or 0.90 points to end at 10.50.
Market breadth was recorded as follows: "Falling stocks outnumbered advancing ones on the Taiwan Stock Exchange by 0 to 0."
There were notable company-level milestones during the session. Ta Liang Technology Co Ltd (TW:3167) rose to an all-time high, increasing 10.00% to 390.50. PCL Technologies Inc (TW:4977) similarly reached an all-time high with a 10.00% rise to 187.00. By contrast, TYC Brother Industrial Co Ltd (TW:1522) fell to a 52-week low after its 9.27% decline to 36.70.
Commodities also moved higher on the day. Crude oil for May delivery rose 5.51% or 5.09 to $97.55 a barrel. Brent oil for May delivery increased 4.63% or 4.64 to $104.85 a barrel. In precious metals, the April Gold Futures contract gained 0.41% or 20.31 to trade at 5,022.51 a troy ounce.
On the currency front, USD/TWD was down slightly by 0.04% to 31.92, while TWD/CNY was effectively unchanged, reported as 0.05% to 0.22. In global dollar measures, the US Dollar Index Futures was higher by 0.36% at 99.83.
Session takeaway - The Taiwan market closed modestly lower with sector-level weakness in Biotech & Medical Care and Transport outweighing gains in several smaller-cap names that posted double-digit advances. Energy and precious metals prices moved upward during the same period, and currency changes were minimal.