Higher Open Anticipated For Taiwan Stock Market

(RTTNews) - The Taiwan stock market has finished lower in four straight sessions, surrendering more than 250 points or 1.7 percent along the way. The Taiwan Stock Exchange now rests just above the 15,475-point plateau although it's expected to find traction on Tuesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is cautiously optimistic on hopes the Republican-manufactured U.S. debt ceiling situation can soon be resolved. The European and U.S. markets were slightly higher and the Asian bourses are tipped to follow suit.

The TSE finished slightly lower on Monday following a mixed performance from the technology stocks and gains from the financial sector.

For the day, the index dipped 27.31 points or 0.18 percent to finish at 15,475.05 after trading between 15,434.52 and 15,510.09.

Among the actives, Cathay Financial jumped 1.64 percent, while Mega Financial collected 0.58 percent, CTBC Financial gained 1.08 percent, First Financial added 0.55 percent, Fubon Financial and Asia Cement both gathered 0.68 percent, E Sun Financial perked 0.20 percent, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company dipped 0.10 percent, United Microelectronics Corporation retreated 1.23 percent, Hon Hai Precision shed 0.49 percent, Largan Precision improved 0.72 percent, Catcher Technology strengthened 1.36 percent, MediaTek climbed 1.04 percent, Delta Electronics advanced 1.01 percent, Novatek Microelectronics plunged 2.55 percent, Formosa Plastics increased 0.43 percent, Nan Ya Plastics and China Steel both were up 0.52 percent and Taiwan Cement declined 1.19 percent.

The lead from Wall Street ends up positive as the major averages opened lower on Monday, stagnated for a bit and then finally crept up into positive territory.

The Dow added 47.98 points or 0.14 percent to finish at 33,348.60, while the NASDAQ jumped 80.47 points or 0.66 percent to close at 12,365.21 and the S&P 500 rose 12.20 points or 0.30 percent to end at 4,136.28.

The higher close on Wall Street may partly have reflected optimism about an eventual agreement on raising the U.S. debt following comments from Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen.

Yellen said the administration and congressional Republicans are making progress in their negotiations over federal spending and raising the debt limit.

In economic news, the New York Fed released a report this morning showing a strong downturn in regional manufacturing activity in May.

Crude oil prices climbed higher Monday, riding on prospects of lower supplies in Canada and elsewhere, while a weaker dollar also contributed to oil's uptick. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for June gained $1.07 or 1.5 percent at $71.11 a barrel after three days of losses.