The Taiwan stock market has alternated between positive and negative finishes through the last four trading days since the end of the two-day slide in which it had dropped almost 90 points or 0.6 percent. The Taiwan Stock Exchange now sits just above the 17,075-point plateau although it’s expected to bounce higher again on Friday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets suggests lid upside, with optimism over interest rates offset by weakness from crude oil prices. The European markets were up and the U.S. markets were mixed and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.
The TSE finished modestly lower on Thursday following losses from the technology stocks and a mixed performance from the financials.
For the day, the index dipped 43.30 points or 0.25 percent to finish at 17,078.86 after trading between 17,061.46 and 17,219.65.
Among the actives, Cathay Financial collected 0.52 percent, while Mega Financial rose 0.15 percent, CTBC Financial fell 0.43 percent, Fubon Financial dipped 0.28 percent, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company dropped 0.84 percent, United Microelectronics Corporation skidded 1.01 percent, Hon Hai Precision added 0.47 percent, Largan Precision sank 0.72 percent, Catcher Technology lost 0.61 percent, MediaTek shed 0.43 percent, Delta Electronics rallied 2.63 percent, Formosa Plastic retreated 1.40 percent, Taiwan Cement eased 0.10 percent and First Financial, E Sun Financial and Asia Cement were unchanged.
The lead from Wall Street is inconsistent as the NASDAQ and S&P 500 both opened higher and stayed that way to hit fresh record closing highs, while the Dow opened lower and remained in the red throughout the session.
The Dow shed 33.35 points or 0.09 percent to finish at 36,124.23, while the NASDAQ jumped 128.72 points or 0.81 percent to close at 15.940.31 and the S&P added 19.49 points or 0.42 percent to end at 4,680.06.
Another batch of earnings news was a driving factor as strong results from chipmaker Qualcomm (QCOM) helped to send the NASDAQ higher, while losses by Dow Inc. (DOW), Goldman Sachs (GS) and Travelers (TRV) contributed to the modest pullback by the Dow.
Traders also continued to react positively to the Federal Reserve’s latest monetary policy announcement, with the central bank announcing plans to scale back its asset purchases but signaling it won’t be in a hurry to begin raising interest rates.
In economic news, the Labor Department noted a modest decrease in first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits last week. Also, the Commerce Department said the U.S. trade deficit widened much more than expected in September.
Crude oil prices tumbled and settled at their lowest level in nearly a month on Thursday after OPEC decided to stick with its plan to raise oil output modestly and gradually. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for December ended lower by $2.05 or 2.5 percent at $78.81 a barrel.
Closer to home, Taiwan will see October numbers for consumer prices later today, with forecasts calling for an increase of 2.58 percent on year following the 2.63 percent gain in September.
Market Analysis
Taiwan Stock Market Expected To Remain Rangebound
2021-11-05 00:33:31
