Tech Shares Expected To Boost Taiwan Stock Market

(RTTNews) - The Taiwan stock market moved higher again on Wednesday, one day after ending the four-day winning streak in which it had surged almost 770 points or 5.3 percent. The Taiwan Stock Exchange now rests just beneath the 14,735-point plateau and it may see additional support on Thursday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is upbeat, with technology stocks expected to lead the way higher. The European and U.S. markets were up and the Asian markets are expected to open in similar fashion.

The TSE finished modestly higher on Wednesday following mixed performances from the financials and technology stocks.

For the day, the index picked up 39.14 points or 0.27 percent to finish at 14,733.22 after trading between 14,694.20 and 14,906.95.

Among the actives, Cathay Financial and Asia Cement both eased 0.11 percent, while CTBA Financial collected 0.23 percent, Fubon Financial dropped 0.85 percent, First Financial dipped 0.20 percent, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company advanced 0.81 percent, United Microelectronics Corporation rallied 2.13 percent, Largan Precision plunged 3.03 percent, Hon Hai Precision shed 0.48 percent, MediaTek climbed 1.36 percent, Catcher Technology lost 0.60 percent, Delta Electronics strengthened 1.22 percent, Formosa Plastics sank 0.90 percent, Nan Ya Plastics slumped 0.63 percent, Taiwan Cement slid 0.12 percent and Mega Financial and E. Sun Financial were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is positive as the major averages opened mixed and remained that way through much of the session before a late rally pushed them all into the green by the close.

The Dow added 47.79 points or 0.15 percent to finish at 31,874.84, while the NASDAQ surged 184.50 points or 1.58 percent to end at 11,897.65 and the S&P 500 rose 23.21 points or 0.59 percent to close at 3,959.90.

The jump by the NASDAQ reflected strength among tech stocks, which came amid a positive reaction to earnings news from Netflix (NFLX). Semiconductor stocks also turned in a strong performance on the day, with the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index spiking by 2.5 percent.

On the other hand, gold stocks came under pressure over the course of the session, dragging the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index down by 3.1 percent. The weakness among gold stocks came as the price of gold for August delivery fell $10.50 to $1,700.20 an ounce.

In U.S. economic news, the National Association of Realtors reported that existing home sales tumbled by much more than expected in June.

Crude oil futures settled lower Wednesday amid concerns about the outlook for gasoline demand during the summer driving season. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for August ended lower by $1.96 or 1.9 percent at $102.26 a barrel on the expiration day.