Taiwan Shares May Crack Resistance At 16,000 Points

(RTTNews) - The Taiwan stock market has tracked higher in two straight sessions, advancing more than 450 points or 2.9 percent along the way. The Taiwan Stock Exchange now rests just above the 15,925-point plateau and it's tipped to open in the green again on Thursday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is upbeat on optimism over debt ceiling negotiations in the United States. The European markets were mixed and the U.S. bourses were up and the Asian markets figure to follow the latter lead.

The TSE finished sharply higher on Wednesday following gains from the financials, cement stocks, plastics and technology companies.

For the day, the index jumped 251.39 points or 1.60 percent to finish at 15,925.29 after trading between 15,698.63 and 15,961.97.

Among the actives, Cathay Financial increased 0.80 percent, while Mega Financial jumped 1.28 percent, CTBC Financial climbed 1.06 percent, First Financial rallied 1.27 percent, Fubon Financial collected 0.67 percent, E Sun Financial gained 0.78 percent, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company spiked 2.77 percent, United Microelectronics Corporation advanced 0.92 percent, Hon Hai Precision added 0.49 percent, Largan Precision shed 0.68 percent, Catcher Technology rose 0.27 percent, MediaTek improved 0.74 percent, Delta Electronics strengthened 1.50 percent, Novatek Microelectronics retreated 1.35 percent, Formosa Plastics accelerated 1.29 percent, Nan Ya Plastics surged 1.40 percent, Taiwan Cement gathered 0.40 percent, China Steel soared 1.37 percent and Asia Cement was unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is solid as the major averages opened higher on Wednesday and accelerated throughout the day, ending near session highs.

The Dow surged 408.63 points or 1.24 percent to finish at 33,420.77, while the NASDAQ rallied 157.51 points or 1.28 percent to end at 12,500.57 and the S&P 500 advanced 48.87 points or 1.19 percent to close at 4,158.77.

The rebound on Wall Street reflected optimism that lawmakers will eventually reach an agreement on raising the U.S. debt ceiling following Tuesday's meeting between President Joe Biden and top congressional leaders.

Regional banks helped lead the rebound on Wall Street, with shares of Western Alliance (WAL) spiking by 10.2 percent after the company said deposit growth for the current quarter exceeded $2 billion as of May 12.

In economic news, the Commerce Department unexpectedly reported a significant rebound in new residential construction in April, although building permits came in below expectations for the month.

Crude oil prices rose sharply Wednesday on expectations of higher demand and optimism over U.S. debt ceiling negotiations. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for June jumped $1.97 or 2.8 percent at $72.83 a barrel.