Taiwan Stock Market Has Positive Lead For Thursday

The Taiwan stock market has climbed higher in four straight sessions, jumping more than 600 points or 3.8 percent along the way. The Taiwan Stock Exchange now sits just beneath the 16,650-point plateau and it may extend its gains again on Thursday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is cautiously optimistic, supported by oil and technology stocks. The European markets were mixed and flat and the U.S. bourses were slightly higher and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.

The TSE finished modestly higher on Wednesday following gains from the financial shares, weakness from the cement companies and a mixed picture from the technology stocks.

For the day, the index collected 48.02 points or 0.29 percent to finish at 16,643.69 after trading between 16,523.23 and 16,706.29.

Among the actives, Cathay Financial rose 0.18 percent, while Mega Financial was up 0.15 percent, CTBC Financial collected 0.66 percent, Fubon Financial fell 0.42 percent, First Financial increased 0.23 percent, E Sun Financial improved 0.59 percent, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company added 0.34 percent, United Microelectronics Corporation skidded 1.16 percent, Hon Hai Precision shed 0.45 percent, Largan Precision lost 0.68 percent, Catcher Technology gained 0.27 percent, MediaTek eased 0.11 percent, Formosa Plastic dropped 0.98 percent, Asia Cement lost 0.40 percent and Taiwan Cement sank 0.78 percent.

The lead from Wall Street offers mild support as the major averages shook off a sluggish start on Wednesday and managed to finish in the green.

The Dow rose 10.59 points or 0.03 percent to finish at 34,323.05, while the NASDAQ climbed 80.82 points or 0.59 percent to close at 13,738.00 and the S&P 500 added 7.86 points or 0.19 percent to end at 4,195.99.

The modest strength on Wall Street reflected continued economic optimism as the country continues to reopen following the coronavirus pandemic as an increasing number of Americans receive a coronavirus vaccine.

But buying interest remained subdued as traders look ahead to Friday’s closely watched inflation reading, which could directly affect the current levels of stimulus.

Crude oil futures settled higher on Wednesday, rising for a fourth straight session as data showed a drop in U.S. crude inventories last week. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for July ended up $0.14 or 0.2 percent at $66.21 a barrel.