Higher Open Anticipated For Taiwan Stock Market

The Taiwan stock market on Thursday halted the three-day winning streak in which it had gathered more than 370 points or 2.2 percent. The Taiwan Stock Exchange now rests just above the 17,600-point plateau although it may reverse those losses on Friday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is upbeat, with support expected from oil and technology stocks in particular. The European markets were mixed and the U.S. bourses were up and the Asian markets are tipped to follow the latter lead.

The TSE finished slightly lower on Thursday as losses from the cement stocks were mitigated by support from the financials and a mixed picture from the technology companies.

For the day, the index dipped 20.77 points or 0.12 percent to finish at 17,603.12 after trading between 17,566.72 and 17,643.97.

Among the actives, CTBC Financial and First Financial both collected 0.43 percent, while United Microelectronics Corporation soared 4.79 percent, Largan Precision advanced 0.88 percent, Catcher Technology fell 0.27 percent, MediaTek climbed 1.16 percent, Delta Electronics rose 0.17 percent, Formosa Plastic shed 0.49 percent, Asia Cement plummeted 10.69 percent, Taiwan Cement tanked 2.04 percent and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, Hon Hai Precision, Cathay Financial, Mega Financial, Fubon Financial, E Sun Financial and Formosa Chemical all were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is solid as the major averages opened firmly in the green and stayed there throughout the session.

The Dow jumped 271.58 points or 0.78 percent to finish at 35,064.25, while the NASDAQ climbed 114.58 points or 0.78 percent to close at 14,895.12 and the S&P 500 perked 26.44 points or 0.60 percent to end at 4,429.10.

The strength on Wall Street followed the Labor Department report showing a modest decrease in first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits last week, sparking optimism ahead of the closely-watched monthly job report later today.

Also, the Commerce Department said the U.S. trade deficit widened more than expected in June, reaching a new record high.

Crude oil prices rebounded Thursday, regaining ground after moving sharply lower over the three previous sessions. After plummeting by 7.8 percent so far this week, crude for September delivery advanced $0.94 or 1.4 percent to $69.09 a barrel.

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