Taiwan Stock Market Poised For Continued Support On Friday

(RTTNews) - The Taiwan stock market has finished higher in two of three trading days since the end of the five-day losing streak in which it had plummeted more than 1,300 points or 8.5 percent. The Taiwan Stock Exchange now rests just beneath the 14,340-point plateau and it may add to its winnings on Friday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is upbeat, with support expected from the oil and technology sectors. The European and U.S. markets were firmly higher and the Asian bourses are expected to open in similar fashion.

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

For the day, the index surged 350.76 points or 2.51 percent to finish at 14,336.27 after trading between 13,951.81 and 14,355.15.

Among the actives, Cathay Financial rose 0.22 percent, while Mega Financial eased 0.14 percent, CTBC Financial collected 0.85 percent, Fubon Financial jumped 1.72 percent, First Financial dipped 0.20 percent, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company strengthened 5.05 percent, United Microelectronics Corporation surged 7.27 percent, Hon Hai Precision climbed 2.99 percent, Largan Precision skyrocketed 9.94 percent, Catcher Technology added 0.95 percent, MediaTek soared 5.12 percent, Delta Electronics spiked 4.99 percent, Novatek Microelectronics increased 0.54 percent, AU Optronics accelerated 1.67 percent, Formosa Plastics plunged 2.76 percent, Nan Ya Plastics plummeted 2.99 percent, Asia Cement shed 0.57 percent, Taiwan Cement rallied 2.25 percent and E Sun Financial was unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is broadly positive as the major averages opened solidly higher on Thursday and stayed that way throughout the session.

The Dow spiked 346.87 points or 1.12 percent to finish at 31,384.55, while the NASDAQ surged 259.49 points or 2.28 percent to end at 11,621.35 and the S&P 500 jumped 57.54 points or 1.50 percent to close at 3,902.62.

The higher open on Wall Street came as traders continued to digest the minutes from the Federal Reserve's June meeting, which all but assured another significant rate hike in the Fed's bid to bring down inflation.

In economic news, the Commerce Department said the U.S. trade deficit narrowed less than expected in May, while the Labor Department reported that initial jobless claims rose more than expected.

The closely watched non-farm payroll report for June is due out from the Labor Department later today.

Crude oil futures settled higher on Thursday, regaining ground after two days of losses. Data showing a decline in gasoline supply last week, and the dollar's weakness supported oil prices. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for August ended higher by $4.20 or 4.3 percent at $102.73 a barrel.

Closer to home, Taiwan will provide June figures for imports, exports and trade balance later today. Imports are expected to surge 24.0 percent on year, easing from 26.7 percent in May. Exports are called higher by an annual 13.55 percent, up from 12.5 percent in the previous month. The trade surplus is pegged at $3.26 billion, up from $2.41 billion a month prior.