Taiwan Stock Market Expected To Open To The Upside On Friday

(RTTNews) - The Taiwan stock market has moved higher in three straight sessions, advancing more than 450 points or 2 percent along the way. The Taiwan Stock Exchange now sits just above the 22,700-point plateau and it may see additional support again on Friday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is positive thanks to better than expected U.S. employment data. The European and U.S. markets were up and the Asian bourses figure to follow that lead.

The TSE finished modestly higher on Thursday following gains from the plastics and cement sectors, while the financials and technology stocks were mixed.

For the day, the index gained 135.23 points or 0.60 percent to finish at 22,712.97 after trading between 22,700.86 and 22,816.20.

Among the actives, Mega Financial eased 0.12 percent, while CTBC Financial collected 0.31 percent, First Financial rose 0.34 percent, Fubon Financial perked 0.12 percent, E Sun Financial added 0.45 percent, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company gathered 0.46 percent, United Microelectronics Corporation dipped 0.11 percent, Hon Hai Precision strengthened 1.23 percent, Largan Precision slumped 1.28 percent, Catcher Technology plunged 3.70 percent, MediaTek tumbled 1.93 percent, Delta Electronics skyrocketed 6.87 percent, Novatek Microelectronics rallied 1.48 percent, Formosa Plastics improved 0.83 percent, Nan Ya Plastics spiked 2.29 percent, Asia Cement gained 1.86 percent and Cathay Financial was unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is upbeat as the major averages opened higher on Thursday and remained in the green throughout the shortened session ahead of the July 4 holiday.

The Dow rallied 344.11 points or 0.77 percent to finish at 44,828.53, while the NASDAQ jumped 207.97 points or 1.02 percent to close at 20,601.10 and the S&P 500 gained 51.93 points or 0.83 percent to end at 6,279.35.

The continued strength on Wall Street followed the release of the Labor Department report showing U.S. employment increased more than expected in June. The Labor Department said non-farm payroll employment shot up by 147,000 jobs in June after jumping by an upwardly revised 144,000 jobs in May.

Traders reacted positively to the data even though the stronger than expected job growth is likely to reduce the chances of a near-term interest rate cut by the Federal Reserve.

Crude oil settled lower on Thursday as excess U.S. inventories and an upcoming OPEC+ meeting triggered supply side concerns. West Texas Intermediate crude for August delivery closed down by $0.45, to settle at $67 per barrel.