Tech Shares Likely To Boost Taiwan Stock Market

(RTTNews) - The Taiwan stock market has finished higher in two of three trading days since the end of the two-day slide in which it had stumbled more than 600 points or 3 percent. The Taiwan Stock Exchange now sits just beneath the 19,875-point plateau and it's got a solid lead again for Monday's trade.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is positive on easing tariff tensions between the United States and China. The European and U.S. markets were up and the Asian bourses are expected to follow that lead.

The TSE finished sharply higher on Friday following gains from the technology and plastics companies, while the financials came in mixed.

For the day, the index surged 393.93 points or 2.02 percent to finish at 19,872.73 after trading between 19,861.24 and 20,012.27.

Among the actives, Mega Financial shed 0.40 percent, while First Financial collected 0.60 percent, Fubon Financial rallied 1.40 percent, E Sun Financial added 0.55 percent, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company spiked 2.78 percent, United Microelectronics Corporation soared 2,88 percent, Hon Hai Precision jumped 1.83 percent, Largan Precision surged 3.97 percent, Catcher Technology dropped 0.92 percent, MediaTek accelerated 3.76 percent, Delta Electronics climbed 1.23 percent, Novatek Microelectronics skyrocketed 4.36 percent, Formosa Plastics perked 0.15 percent, Nan Ya Plastics rose 0.16 percent, Asia Cement slumped 1.12 percent and Cathay Financial and CTBC Financial were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is upbeat as the major averages opened mixed on Friday but a late rally pushed them all into the green by the close.

The Dow rose 20.10 points or 0.05 percent to finish at 40,113.50, while the NASDAQ rallied 216.94 points or 1.26 percent to close at 17,382.94 and the S&P 500 climbed 40.44 points or 0.74 percent to end at 5,525.21. For the week, the NASDAQ spiked 6.7 percent, the S&P 500 surged 4.6 percent and the Dow shot up by 2.5 percent.

The volatility on the day came as traders kept a close eye on the developments on the trade front, with President Donald Trump refuting China's claims that the two countries have not held any trade negotiations.

Several reports citing U.S. businesses also said China has exempted some U.S. imports from its 125 percent tariffs.

In U.S. economic news, the University of Michigan said consumer sentiment in the U.S. deteriorated less than previously estimated in the month of April.

Crude oil futures moved modestly higher on Friday amid signs of easing trade tensions between the U.S. and China. West Texas Intermediate crude for June delivery rose $0.23 or 0.4 percent to $63.02 a barrel. For the week, crude for June delivery tumbled $0.99 a barrel or 1.6 percent.