Higher Open Anticipated For Taiwan Stock Market

The Taiwan stock market on Thursday wrote a finish to the four-day losing streak in which it had tumbled more than 570 points or 3.3 percent. The Taiwan Stock Exchange now rests just beneath the 17,575-point plateau and it’s predicted to open in the green again on Friday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is upbeat as they continue to recover from recent selling, supported mainly by crude oil prices. The European and U.S. markets were up and the Asian bourses figure to open in similar fashion.

The TSE finished modestly higher on Thursday following gains from the financial shares, technology stocks and cement companies.

For the day, the index gained 113.54 points or 0.65 percent to finish at 17,572.33 after trading between 17,482.81 and 17,653.21.

Among the actives, Cathay Financial soared 3.09 percent, while Mega Financial collected 0.46 percent, CTBC Financial added 0.66 percent, Fubon Financial spiked 2.81 percent, First Financial rose 0.44 percent, E Sun Financial perked 0.38 percent, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company climbed 1.03 percent, United Microelectronics Corporation surged 5.69 percent, Hon Hai Precision jumped 1.84 percent, Largan Precision rallied 2.35 percent, Catcher Technology accelerated 1.61 percent, MediaTek advanced 0.77 percent, Delta Electronics dropped 0.98 percent, Formosa Plastic improved 2.00 percent, Asia Cement shed 0.57 percent and Taiwan Cement gathered 0.58 percent.

The lead from Wall Street is positive as the major averages opened mixed on Thursday but all headed higher in the afternoon and finished in the green.

The Dow added 25.35 points or 0.07 percent to finish at 34,823.35, while the NASDAQ gained 52.64 points or 0.36 percent to end at 14,684.60 and the S&P 500 rose 8.79 points or 0.20 percent to close at 4,367.48.

The modestly higher close on Wall Street reflected recent upward momentum as stocks continued to recover from the sell-off on Monday. However, traders seemed reluctant to make significant moves following the recent volatility.

In economic news, the Labor Department reported an unexpected increase in initial jobless claims last week. Also, the National Association of Realtors said existing home sales rebounded in June following four straight monthly declines.

Crude oil futures settled higher on Thursday, gaining for a third successive day, thanks to reports showing strong gasoline demand and a rebound in distillate fuels. West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures for September ended up $1.61 or 2.3 percent at $71.91 a barrel.

Closer to home, Taiwan will provide June numbers for industrial production and retail sales later today. In May, industrial output was up 16.51 percent on year and retail sales gained an annual 2.8 percent.