Rebound Predicted For Taiwan Stock Market

(RTTNews) - The Taiwan stock market has finished lower in two of three trading days since the end of the three-day winning streak in which it had rallied more than 270 points or 1.4 percent. The Taiwan Stock Exchange now sits just above the 18,935-point plateau and it figures to bounce higher again on Monday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is upbeat, with support expected from the technology and oil companies. The European and U.S. markets were up and the Asian bourses figure to open in similar fashion.

The TSE finished slightly lower on Friday following losses from the financial shares, technology companies and plastics.

For the day, the index dipped 30.84 points or 0.16 percent to finish at 18,935.93 after trading between 18,923.46 and 19,041.92.

Among the actives, Cathay Financial dropped 0.89 percent, while Mega Financial fell 0.39 percent, CTBC Financial skidded 1.19 percent, First Financial eased 0.18 percent, Fubon Financial sank 0.88 percent, E Sun Financial collected 0.40 percent, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company dipped 0.14 percent, United Microelectronics Corporation retreated 1.13 percent, Hon Hai Precision slumped 0.97 percent, Largan Precision shed 0.77 percent, MediaTek plunged 3.07 percent, Delta Electronics slid 0.34 percent, Novatek Microelectronics was down 0.33 percent, Formosa Plastics lost 0.14 percent, Nan Ya Plastics tanked 2.01 percent, Asia Cement declined 0.74 percent, China Steel shed 0.61 percent and Catcher Technology and Taiwan Cement were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is positive as the major averages opened flat on Friday but accelerated as the day progressed, sending the NASDAQ and S&P to record closing highs.

The Dow advanced 90.98 points or 0.23 percent to finish at 39,087.38, while the NASDAQ jumped 183.04 points or 1.14 percent to close at 16,274.94 and the S&P 500 rallied 40.81 points or 0.80 percent to end at 5,137.08. For the week, the NASDAQ shot up 1.7 percent and the S&P 500 rose 1.0 percent, but the Dow eased 0.1 percent.

The surge by the NASDAQ reflected substantial strength among computer hardware stocks following upbeat results from Dell (DELL), with the NYSE Arca Computer Hardware Index soaring to a record closing high.

In economic news, the Institute for Supply Management said manufacturing activity in the U.S. unexpectedly contracted at an accelerated rate in February. Also, the University of Michigan released revised data showing consumer sentiment unexpectedly deteriorated in February.

The soft data contributed to a downturn by treasury yields, which added to optimism about the Federal Reserve eventually cutting interest rates.

Oil prices rose to a four-month high on Friday, buoyed by reports that oil demand surged to a four-year high in 2023 and will hold near that level again this year. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for April spiked $1.71 or 2.2 percent at $79.97 a barrel, the highest close since November 6, 2023.