Taiwan Shares May Bounce Higher Again On Friday

(RTTNews) - The Taiwan stock market on Thursday ended the three-day winning streak in which it had rallied more than 810 points or 3.6 percent. The Taiwan Stock Exchange now sits just beneath the 22,290-point plateau and it may see renewed support on Friday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is murky amidst conflicting economic data, trade updates and geopolitical events. The European markets were down and the U.S. bourses were slightly higher and the Asian markets figure to follow the latter lead.

The TSE finished modestly lower on Thursday following losses from the technology stocks and mixed performances from the financial shares and plastics companies.

For the day, the index dropped 182.28 points or 0.81 percent to finish at 22,287.82 after trading between 22,253.64 and 22,390.17.

Among the actives, Cathay Financial dipped 0.16 percent, while Mega Financial collected 0.62 percent, First Financial perked 0.18 percent, Fubon Financial tanked 2.89 percent, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company tumbled 1.88 percent, United Microelectronics Corporation was up 0.11 percent, Hon Hai Precision advanced 0.96 percent, Largan Precision shed 0.42 percent, Catcher Technology added 0.47 percent, MediaTek stumbled 2.28 percent, Delta Electronics lost 0.62 percent, Novatek Microelectronics retreated 1.36 percent, Formosa Plastics climbed 1.11 percent, Nan Ya Plastics slumped 1.50 percent, Asia Cement sank 0.81 percent and CTBC Financial and E Sun Financial were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is cautiously optimistic as the major averages opened lower on Thursday before finally ticking up into the green to finish slightly higher.

The Dow climbed 101.85 points or 0.24 percent to finish at 42,967.62, while the NASDAQ added 46.61 points or 0.24 percent to close at 19,662.48 and the S&P 500 rose 23.02 points or 0.38 percent to end at 6,045.26.

The turnaround on Wall Street comes as traders digest the latest U.S. inflation data, with a report from the Labor Department showing producer prices crept up by less than expected in May.

Stocks moved lower earlier in the day due in part to lingering uncertainty about trade amid a lack of details about the U.S.-China trade deal announced on Wednesday.

Crude oil futures showed a modest move back to the downside during trading on Thursday, with profit taking limited by rising tensions between the U.S. and Iran over the latter's nuclear developments. West Texas Intermediate crude for July delivery eased $0.11 to $68.04 per barrel.