Higher Open Called For Taiwan Stock Market

(RTTNews) - The Taiwan stock market on Friday wrote a finish to the three-day losing streak in which it had dropped more than 125 points or 0.8 percent. The Taiwan Stock Exchange now sits just above the 16,700-point plateau and it's expected to see additional support on Monday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is broadly positive on solid U.S. employment data and easing fears of recession. The European and U.S. markets were up and the Asian markets are expected to open in similar fashion.

The TSE finished sharply higher on Friday following gains from the financial shares, technology companies and cement stocks.

For the day, the index climbed 194.21 points or 1.18 percent to finish at 16,706.91 after trading between 16,525.00 and 16,752.20.

Among the actives, Cathay Financial increased 1.02 percent, while Mega Financial improved 0.70 percent, First Financial dipped 0.18 percent, Fubon Financial rose 0.33 percent, E Sun Financial collected 0.58 percent, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company rallied 2.00 percent, United Microelectronics Corporation climbed 1.18 percent, Largan Precision advanced 0.89 percent, Catcher Technology strengthened 1.61 percent, MediaTek added 0.40 percent, Delta Electronics shed 0.47 percent, Novatek Microelectronics jumped 1.65 percent, Formosa Plastics perked 0.43 percent, Nan Ya Plastics gathered 0.64 percent, Asia Cement gained 0.45 percent, Taiwan Cement spiked 2.12 percent, China Steel was up 1.03 percent and Hon Hai Precision and CTBC Financial were unchanged.

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

The Dow surged 701.16 points or 2.12 percent to finish at 33,762.76, while the NASDAQ jumped 139.77 points or 1,07 percent to end at 13,240.77 and the S&P 500 spiked 61.35 points or 1.45 percent to close at 4,282.37. For the week, the Dow and NASDAQ both jumped 2.0 percent and the S&P climbed 1.8 percent.

The extended rally on Wall Street followed the release of a closely watched Labor Department report showing U.S. employment surged by much more than expected in the month of May.

Positive sentiment was also generated in reaction to news the Senate voted to pass the bill raising the U.S. debt ceiling late Thursday night, and President Joe Biden has since made it official with his signature.

The passage of the bill eliminated the threat of a potentially disastrous default by the U.S. government, which had been hanging over the markets in recent weeks.

Oil prices rallied on Friday, extending gains from the previous session following the passage of the debt ceiling bill and amid speculation OPEC may announce a cut in production. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for July ended higher by $1.64 or 2.3 percent at $71.74 a barrel.