Taiwan's stock market ended the week lower, but on Friday TSMC helped pull out a red candle with a long lower shadow. Bulls and bears are locked in a short-term tug-of-war — a neutral picture for investors chasing highs, and something of an opportunity for those looking to buy on dips.

• The weighted index reclaimed the 45,000-point level on Friday, but still fell over the week as a whole, ending a two-week winning streak.
• The listed market and the over-the-counter market moved in exactly opposite directions: the main board opened lower, climbed, and closed near its high, while the OTC market opened higher, drifted lower and closed down.
• Financial commentator Juan Mu-hua believes Monday will be the key session, with the question being whether the rebound can be sustained.
• Foreign investors were heavy buyers this week, but clearly rotated out of AI and into shipping stocks, sweeping up more than 160,000 lots of Yang Ming in a single week.
• With the conflict in the Middle East unabated and freight rate indices continuing to climb, the three big container shippers strengthened in unison, with Wan Hai rebounding more than 8% during the session.

Outlook: Market attention turns to whether trading volume can expand. Without sufficient volume, the index may continue to consolidate in choppy trade around the 45,000-point level.