Taiwan Stock Market Due For Profit Taking On Friday

(RTTNews) - The Taiwan stock market has moved higher in two straight trading days, gathering more than 260 points or 2 percent along the way. The Taiwan Stock Exchange now rests just beneath the 12,925-point plateau although investors may lock in gains on Friday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is mixed to lower, with tech shares expected to weigh heavily. The European and U.S. markets were mixed and the Asian bourses are expected to follow that lead.

The TSE finished sharply higher on Thursday following gains from the technology stocks and mixed performances from the financials and cement companies.

For the day, the index jumped 197.32 points or 1.55 percent to finish at 12,926.37 after trading between 12,807.69 and 12,954.32.

Among the actives, Mega Financial retreated 1.49 percent, while CTBC Financial advanced 0.98 percent, Fubon Financial collected 1.39 percent, First Financial skidded 1.01 percent, E Sun Financial fell 0.43 percent, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company rallied 2.53 percent, United Microelectronics Corporation spiked 3.02 percent, Largan Precision added 0.55 percent, Catcher Technology jumped 1.82 percent, MediaTek strengthened 1.73 percent, Delta Electronics gained 0.78 percent, Formosa Plastics eased 0.12 percent, Asia Cement dipped 0.27 percent, Taiwan Cement accelerated 1.82 percent and Hon Hai Precision, Cathay Financial and Nan Ya Plastics were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is murky as the major averages opened mixed on Thursday. The NASDAQ remained lower throughout the session, while the Dow was higher the whole day and the S&P bounced back and forth across the unchanged line, finally finishing in the red.

The Dow jumped 194.17 points or 0.61 percent to finish at 32,033.28, while the NASDAQ tumbled 178.32 points or 1.63 percent to end at 10,792.67 and the S&P 500 fell 23.30 points or 0.61 percent to close at 3,807.30.

The continued upward move by the Dow reflected positive reaction to earnings news from the likes of Caterpillar (CAT), Honeywell (HON), McDonald's (MCD) and Merck (MRK).

The index also benefited from a positive reaction to a report from the Commerce Department showing U.S. economic activity rebounded by slightly more than expected in the third quarter following two straight quarters of contraction.

Meanwhile, a steep drop by Meta Platforms (META) weighed on the tech-heavy NASDAQ, with the Facebook parent plunging by 24.5 percent after the company reported weaker than expected Q3 earnings and disappointing guidance.

Crude oil prices climbed higher on Thursday, extending gains from the previous session amid optimism about demand growth. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for December were up $1.17 or 1.3 percent at $89.08 a barrel.

Closer to home, Taiwan will provide an advance estimate for Q3 gross domestic product later today; in the second quarter, GDP expanded 3.05 percent on year.