The Taiwan stock market has climbed higher in five straight sessions, advancing almost 400 points or 2.3 percent in that span. The Taiwan Stock Exchange now sits just above the 17,840-point plateau although it may see profit taking on Friday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is mixed to higher, with support expected from oil and technology companies. The European markets were down and the U.S. bourses were mixed and the Asian markets are tipped to follow the latter lead.
The TSE finished modestly higher on Thursday following gains from the financial shares and a mixed picture from the technology stocks.
For the day, the index jumped 77.33 points or 0.44 percent to finish at the daily high of 17,841.37 after moving as low as 17,748.21.
Among the actives, Cathay Financial climbed 1.29 percent, while Mega Financial jumped 1.46 percent, CTBC Financial gathered 1.23 percent, Fubon Financial collected 0.39 percent, First Financial gained 0.63 percent, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company added 0.49 percent, United Microelectronics Corporation sank 0.79 percent, Largan Precision retreated 1.67 percent, Catcher Technology rose 0.31 percent, MediaTek surged 5.34 percent, Delta Electronics shed 0.57 percent, Formosa Plastic advanced 0.94 percent, Asia Cement fell 0.45 percent, Taiwan Cement lost 0.45 percent and Hon Hai Precision and E Sun Financial were unchanged.
The lead from Wall Street is mixed as the Dow opened in the red Thursday and remained there throughout the session, while the NASDAQ and S&P shrugged off some early weakness to finish at fresh record closing highs.
The Dow shed 60.10 points or 0.17 percent to finish hat 35,870.95, while the NASDAQ climbed 72.14 points or 0.45 percent to close at 15,993.71 and the S&P 500 rose 15.87 points or 0.34 percent to end at 4,704.54.
The mixed performance followed mixed earnings news from some big-name companies. Retail stocks saw significant strength following upbeat results from companies like Macy’s (M), BJ’s Wholesale (BJ) and Kohl’s (KSS).
Meanwhile, a steep drop by Cisco Systems (CSCO) weighed on the Dow after the company reported better than expected fiscal first quarter earnings but provided disappointing guidance.
In economic news, Labor Department said first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits were nearly unchanged, down by 1,000 from last week. Also, the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia showed jump in the pace of growth in regional manufacturing activity in November.
Crude oil futures settled higher Thursday, bouncing back after early weakness, despite uncertainty about the outlook for energy demand. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for December gained $0.65 or 0.8 percent at $79.01 a barrel.
Closer to home, Taiwan will see Q3 current account data later today; in the previous three months, the current account surplus was $28.04 billion.
Market Analysis
Rally May Stall For Taiwan Stock Market
2021-11-19 00:33:08
