Taiwan Stock Market Poised To Add To Its Winnings

(RTTNews) - The Taiwan stock market ticked higher again on Tuesday, one session after snapping the three-day winning streak in which it had advanced more than 330 points or 2 percent. The Taiwan Stock Exchange now rests just above the 15,400-point plateau and it's expected to open in the green again on Wednesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is upbeat on increasing optimism over the outlook for interest rates. The European markets were mixed and flat and the U.S. bourses were solidly higher and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.

The TSE finished barely higher om Tuesday following gains from the cement and plastic sectors, while the technology and financial stocks were mixed.

For the day, the index rose 8.09 points or 0.05 percent to finish at 15,400.91 after trading between 15,363.65 and 15,462.10.

Among the actives, Cathay Financial added 0.35 percent, while Mega Financial collected 0.47 percent, CTBC Financial dipped 0.22 percent, First Financial was up 0.19 percent, E Sun Financial shed 0.41 percent, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company shed 0.57 percent, United Microelectronics Corporation perked 0.20 percent, Hon Hai Precision dropped 0.99 percent, MediaTek tumbled 1.92 percent, Delta Electronics fell 0.34 percent, Novatek Microelectronics rallied 2.25 percent, Formosa Plastics improved 0.68 percent, Nan Ya Plastics climbed 1.21 percent, Asia Cement gained 0.36 percent, Taiwan Cement strengthened 1.38 percent and Largan Precision, Catcher Technology and Fubon Financial were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is broadly positive as the major averages shook off flat morning trade on Tuesday, rallying in the afternoon.

The Dow jumped265.67 points or 0.78 percent to finish at 34,156.69, while the NASDAQ surged 226.34 points or 1.90 percent to end at 12,113.79 and the S&P 500 advanced 52.92 points or 1.29 percent to close at 4,164.00.

The late rally on Wall Street came in reaction to Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's remarks at the Economic Club of Washington. In a Q&A session, Powell said he expects 2023 to be a year of "significant declines in inflation."

Powell said inflation is beginning to ease, though he expects it to be a long process and cautioned that interest rates could rise more than markets expect if the economic data doesn't cooperate.

Oil prices advanced Tuesday on expectations of higher energy demand from China, and on supply concerns following a massive earthquake in Turkey on Monday. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for March ended higher by $3.02 or 4.1 percent at $77.14 a barrel, the highest close since January 31.