Win Streak May Continue For Taiwan Stock Market

(RTTNews) - The Taiwan stock market has finished higher in three straight sessions, collecting almost 500 points or 2.2 percent along the way. The Taiwan Stock Exchange now sits just above the 23,110-point plateau and it's expected to open to the upside again on Friday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is positive, with oil, technology and financial shares likely to lead the way higher. The European and U.S. markets were up and the Asian markets figure to follow that lead.

The TSE finished modestly higher again on Thursday following sharp gains from the plastics companies and mixed performances from the financial shares and technology stocks.

For the day, the index gained 70.38 points or 0.31 percent to finish at 23,113.28 after trading between 22,923.37 and 23,159.54.

Among the actives, Cathay Financial shed 0.63 percent, while Mega Financial and Fubon Financial both fell 0.36 percent, CTBC Financial lost 0.47 percent, First Financial collected 0.34 percent, United Microelectronics Corporation rose 0.23 percent, Hon Hai Precision advanced 0.92 percent, Largan Precision jumped 1.74 percent, Catcher Technology climbed 1.18 percent, MediaTek retreated 1.42 percent, Delta Electronics dipped 0.20 percent, Formosa Plastics surged 6.64 percent, Nan Ya Plastics soared 5.41 percent, Asia Cement stumbled 3.13 percent and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, Novatek Microelectronics and E Sun Financial were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is upbeat as the major averages opened solidly in the green on Thursday and extended their gains throughout the day.

The Dow jumped 229.71 points or 0.52 percent to finish at 44,484.49, while the NASDAQ rallied 155.16 points or 0.75 percent to close at a record 20,855.65 and the S&P 500 gained 33.66 points or 0.54 percent to end at 6,297.36, also a record.

The continued strength on Wall Street followed the release of a batch of upbeat U.S. economic data, including a Commerce Department report showing retail sales rebounded by much more than expected in the month of June.

A separate report from the Labor Department showed first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits unexpectedly dipped to a three-month low last month, while import prices in the U.S. inched up less than expected in June.

Crude oil prices increased on Thursday as fresh tension brewing in the Middle East generated demand, while a drop in U.S. inventories was seen as reflecting robust summer demand. West Texas Intermediate crude for August delivery surged $1.16 to settle at $67.54 per barrel.