Win Streak May Continue For Taiwan Stock Market

(RTTNews) - The Taiwan stock market has moved higher in five straight sessions, climbing more than 600 points or 3.7 percent along the way. The Taiwan Stock Exchange now sits just above the 17,330-point plateau and it's expected to see additional support on Friday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is upbeat on an improved outlook for interest rates. The European markets were mixed and the U.S. bourses were up and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.

The TSE finished modestly higher on Thursday following gains from the plastics companies, losses from the financials and a mixed picture from the technology stocks.

For the day, the index gained 96.84 points or 0.56 percent to finish at 17,334.98 after trading between 17,259.37 and 17,346.32.

Among the actives, Cathay Financial lost 0.56 percent, while Mega Financial dipped 0.27 percent, CTBC Financial eased 0.20 percent, First Financial fell 0.54 percent, Fubon Financial slid 0.32 percent, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company added 0.64 percent, United Microelectronics Corporation jumped 1.87 percent, Hon Hai Precision dropped 0.89 percent, Largan Precision shed 0.44 percent, Catcher Technology climbed 1.05 percent, MediaTek tumbled 1.79 percent, Delta Electronics surged 4.82 percent, Novatek Microelectronics plunged 2.28 percent, Formosa Plastics rose 0.32 percent, Nan Ya Plastics gained 0.25 percent, Asia Cement was down 0.23 percent and Taiwan Cement, China Steel and E Sun Financial were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is broadly positive as the major averages opened higher and accelerated as the day progressed, ending near session highs.

The Dow surged 428.73 points or 1.26 percent to finish at 34,408.06, while the NASDAQ jumped 156.34 points or 1.15 percent to end at 15,826.35 and the S&P 500 climbed 53.25 points or 1.22 percent to close at 4,425.84.

The rally on Wall Street reflected optimism about the outlook for interest rates following the release of some U.S. economic data. While the Federal Reserve forecast further rate hikes, traders seem hopeful the central bank will not follow through.

The optimism stemmed from a report from the Labor Department showing initial jobless claims held at their highest level last week since October 2021. A separate Labor Department report said import prices in the U.S. fell more than expected in May, also generating optimism about the outlook for inflation.

Crude oil prices rose sharply Thursday, buoyed by reports suggesting a jump in demand from Chinese refineries and additional stimulus from the Chinese central bank. The dollar's weakness also contributed to the jumped in oil prices. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures ended higher by $2.35 or 3.4 percent at $70.62 a barrel.