Taiwan Bourse May Add To Its Winnings On Thursday

(RTTNews) - The Taiwan stock market has moved higher in three straight sessions, improving almost 450 points or 2.8 percent along the way. The Taiwan Stock Exchange now sits just beneath the 17,130-point plateau and it may see additional support on Thursday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is cautiously optimistic thanks to the improving outlook for interest rates. The European and U.S. markets were slightly higher and the Asian bourses are expected to open in similar fashion.

The TSE finished sharply higher on Wednesday following gains from the financials, plastics, cement stocks and technology companies.

For the day, the index accelerated 213.07 points or 1.26 percent to finish at 17,128.78 after trading between 17,034.95 and 17,143.88.

Among the actives, Cathay Financial collected 0.66 percent, while Mega Financial advanced 0.91 percent, CTBC Financial soared 2.49 percent, First Financial increased 0.74 percent, Fubon Financial rallied 1.62 percent, E Sun Financial gathered 0.41 percent, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company strengthened 1.57 percent, United Microelectronics Corporation climbed 1.13 percent, Hon Hai Precision added 0.50 percent, Largan Precision slid 0.24 percent, Catcher Technology improved 0.81 percent, MediaTek rose 0.33 percent, Delta Electronics spiked 2.34 percent, Novatek Microelectronics gained 0.51 percent, Formosa Plastics accelerated 2.70 percent, Nan Ya Plastics surged 3.34 percent, Asia Cement was up 2.37 percent, Taiwan Cement jumped 2.00 percent and China Steel perked 1.63 percent.

The lead from Wall Street suggests mild upside as the major averages opened higher on Wednesday and stayed largely in the green although finished with limited gains.

The Dow jumped 163.51 points or 0.47 percent to finish at 34,991.21, while the NASDAQ rose 9.45 points or 0.07 percent to close at 14,103.84 and the S&P 500 perked 7.18 points or 0.16 percent to end at 4,502.88.

The continued strength on Wall Street came as the latest inflation data added to optimism about the outlook for interest rates - especially after the Labor Department reported an unexpected decrease in U.S. producer prices in October.

Following Tuesday's tamer than expected consumer price inflation data, the latest report reinforced expectations that the Federal Reserve is done raising interest rates.

In economic news, the Commerce Department said retail sales in the U.S. edged slightly lower in October.

Crude oil prices tumbled on Wednesday after data showed a sharp increase in U.S. crude stockpiles and a big jump in crude production. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for December lost $1.60 or 2 percent at $76.66 a barrel, falling for the first time in five sessions.