Taiwan Stock Market Poised To Add To Its Winnings On Friday

(RTTNews) - The Taiwan stock market rebounded on Thursday, one day after snapping the two-day winning streak in which it had advanced more than 80 points or 0.6 percent. The Taiwan Stock Exchange now rests just above the 15,615-point plateau and it's likely to extend those gains on Friday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is upbeat, with bargain hunting expected after selling and uncertainty earlier in the week. The European markets were mixed and the U.S. bourses were up and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.

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

For the day, the index jumped 196.64 points or 1.28 percent to finish at 15,615.41 after trading between 15,463.46 and 15,657.63.

Among the actives, Cathay Financial eased 0.12 percent, while Mega Financial shed 0.44 percent, CTBC Financial rose 0.22 percent, Fubon Financial dipped 0.17 percent, First Financial collected 0.37 percent, E Sun Financial perked 0.20 percent, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company rallied 2.17 percent, United Microelectronics Corporation strengthened 1.31 percent, Hon Hai Precision advanced 0.98 percent, Largan Precision added 0.68 percent, Catcher Technology climbed 1.06 percent, MediaTek surged 4.49 percent, Formosa Plastics fell 0.44 percent, Nan Ya Plastics was up 0.13 percent, Asia Cement improved 1.14 percent, Taiwan Cement soared 3.81 percent and Delta Electronics and Novatek Microelectronics were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street ends up firm as the major averages opened higher on Thursday, slumped midday but rebounded to end firmly in the green.

The Dow climbed 108.82 points or 0.33 percent to finish at 33,153.91, while the NASDAQ jumped 83.33 points or 0.72 percent to close at 11,590.40 and the S&P 500 rose 21.27 points or 0.53 percent to end at 4,012.32.

Buying interest remained somewhat subdued as interest rate concerns continued to hang over the markets following Wednesday's release of the minutes of the latest Federal Reserve meeting.

The Fed minutes offered few surprised but reiterated that the central bank will continue to raise interest rates in its battle against inflation.

In economic news, the Labor Department noted an unexpected dip in first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits last week, while the Commerce Department said the U.S. economy grew by slightly less than estimated Q4 of 2022.

After trending lower in recent sessions, the price of crude oil showed a strong move back to the upside on Thursday, despite a bigger than expected increase in U.S. crude oil inventories. West Texas Intermediate crude for April delivery spiked $1.44 or 2.0 percent to $75.39 a barrel.