Taiwan Stock Market May Pick Up Steam On Thursday

The Taiwan stock market on Wednesday snapped the three-day losing streak in which it had plunged more than 500 points or 3 percent. The Taiwan Stock Exchange now sits just above the 16,940-point plateau and it’s expected to open higher again on Thursday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is broadly positive on slightly easing geopolitical concerns and more bargain hunting, especially among technology stocks. The European and U.S. markets were solidly higher and the Asian bourses are tipped to follow suit.

The TSE finished slightly higher on Wednesday following gains from the financial shares and technology stocks, while the plastic and cement companies were mixed.

For the day, the index rose 14.77 points or 0.09 percent to finish at 16,940.83 after trading between 16,808.43 and 17,085.77.

Among the actives, Cathay Financial climbed 1.14 percent, while Mega Financial rallied 2.33 percent, CTBC Financial advanced 1.32 percent, Fubon Financial collected 0.55 percent, First Financial jumped 1.54 percent, E Sun Financial improved 1.33 percent, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company and Hon Hai Precision both added 0.50 percent, United Microelectronics Corporation gained 0.79 percent, Largan Precision sank 0.76 percent, Catcher Technology increased 0.35 percent, MediaTek rose 0.33 percent, Delta Electronics dropped 0.99 percent, Nan Ya Plastics perked 0.73 percent, Asia Cement gathered 0.63 percent, Taiwan Cement eased 0.21 percent and Formosa Plastics was unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is upbeat as the major averages opened sharply higher on Wednesday and remained firmly in the green throughout the trading day.

The Dow surged 518.76 points or 1.55 percent to finish at 34,063.10, while the NASDAQ soared 487.93 points or 3.77 percent to end at 13,437.55 and the S&P 500 jumped 95.41 points or 2.24 percent to close at 4,357.86.

The rally came after the Fed announced its widely expected decision to raise interest rates for the first time since December of 2018 in an effort to combat inflation at 40-year highs. The Fed raised the target range for the federal funds rate by 25 basis points to 0.25 to 0.5 percent.

The central bank also predicted ongoing rate hikes will be appropriate, with the Fed’s latest projections pointing to an interest rate of 1.9 percent by the end of the year. It also expects to begin reducing its holdings of Treasury securities and agency debt and agency mortgage-backed securities at a coming meeting.

Optimism about a potential diplomatic solution to the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine also generated buying interest. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said during an address to the nation that the positions in the negotiations were beginning to “sound more realistic.”

Crude oil prices dropped Wednesday, extending losses to a third straight session after data showed a surprise surge in U.S. crude inventories, and amid hopes of some progress in Russia-Ukraine peace talks. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for April ended lower by $1.40 or 1.5 percent at $95.04 a barrel.

Closer to home, the de facto central bank in Taiwan will wrap up its monetary policy meeting today and announce its decision on interest rates, with forecasts suggesting no move on its benchmark at 1.125 percent.