Winning Streak May End For Taiwan Stock Market

(RTTNews) - The Taiwan stock market has tracked higher in consecutive trading days, rallying more than 500 points 3.9 percent along the way. The Taiwan Stock Exchange now rests just above the 13,800-point plateau although it's likely to open in the red on Thursday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is soft on recession fears and concerns about the outlook for interest rates. The European and U.S. markets were modestly lower and the Asian bourses are tipped to follow suit.

The TSE finished sharply higher on Wednesday following gains from the technology, plastic and cement sectors, while the financials were mixed.

For the day, the index jumped 224.91 points or 1.66 percent to finish at 13,801.43 after trading between 13,727.30 and 13,902.02.

Among the actives, Cathay Financial spiked 3.03 percent, while Mega Financial collected 0.49 percent, CTBC Financial climbed 1.74 percent, Fubon Financial improved 2.33 percent, First Financial fell 0.39 percent, E Sun Financial dipped 0.20 percent, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company rallied 3.73 percent, United Microelectronics Corporation strengthened 1.59 percent, Hon Hai Precision soared 4.39 percent, Largan Precision jumped 2.05 percent, Catcher Technology skidded 1.16 percent, MediaTek surged 4.54 percent, Delta Electronics accelerated 4.26 percent, Formosa Plastics eased 0.11 percent, Nan Ya Plastics was up 0.74 percent, Asia Cement advanced 1.02 percent and Taiwan Cement gained 0.89 percent.

The lead from Wall Street suggests mild consolidation as the major averages opened sharply lower but clawed their way back as the day progressed to end only slightly in the red.

The Dow shed 42.45 points or 0.14 percent to finish at 30,273.87, while the NASDAQ lost 27.77 points or 0.25 percent to end at 11,148.64 and the S&P 500 dipped 7.65 points or 0.20 percent to close at 3,783.28.

The early weakness on Wall Street came as central banks around the world appear poised to continue raising interest in the months ahead, potentially tipping the global economy into a recession as they combat elevated inflation.

A rebound by treasury yields also weighed on the markets, with the yield on the benchmark 10-year note regaining ground after easing in the two previous sessions. Selling pressure waned over the course of the session, however, as traders may feel the economic worries have been overdone.

Upbeat U.S. economic data has added to worries the Federal Reserve will continue to aggressively raising interest rates going into the end of the year as payroll processor ADP said private sector employment in the U.S. increased slightly more than expected in September.

Crude oil prices climbed higher on Wednesday after OPEC agreed to impose output cuts, aiming to spur a recovery in oil prices. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for November climbed $1.24 or 1.4 percent at $87.76 a barrel.

Closer to home, Taiwan will release September figures for consumer and wholesale prices later today. In August, consumer prices were down 0.15 percent on month and up 2.66 percent on year, while wholesale prices spiked an annual 11.54 percent.