Taiwan Equities Retreat Amid FOMC Uncertainty and Tech Profit-Taking

The Taiwan Stock Exchange closed lower on Tuesday, ending a period of record highs as the index slipped 85.00 points, or 0.47%, to finish at 18,034.63. The decline follows a strong rally that had previously pushed the market toward a peak of 18,138.74. The pullback comes as global investors adopt a cautious stance ahead of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) interest rate decision. While European markets trended higher, U.S. bourses provided conflicting signals; the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.35% to close at 38,467.31, while the NASDAQ fell 0.76% to 15,509.90. In Taiwan, the technology and financial sectors bore the brunt of the selling. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) dropped 0.93%, and Delta Electronics plunged 2.39%. Financial heavyweights including Cathay Financial and Mega Financial also saw declines exceeding 1%. Conversely, MediaTek provided a bright spot, spiking 2.67%. Market participants are also eyeing upcoming quarterly results from U.S. tech giants, including Alphabet, Microsoft, and Apple, which contributed to the NASDAQ's slide as traders booked profits. Additionally, crude oil prices saw a jump of 1.4% to $77.82 a barrel following an IMF global growth forecast upgrade. Locally, attention shifts to Taiwan's preliminary Q4 GDP figures. Forecasts suggest a year-on-year increase of 4.5%, representing a significant acceleration from the 2.32% growth recorded in the previous three months.