Taiwan Stock Market May Find Traction On Friday

The Taiwan stock market has ended lower in six straight sessions, sinking more than 400 points or 2.3 percent along the way. The Taiwan Stock Exchange now rests just beneath the 17,220-point plateau although it’s overdue for support on Friday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is upbeat amid bargain hunting from technology stocks, capped by stalled crude oil prices. The European markets were mixed and the U.S. bourses were up and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.

The TSE finished barely lower on Thursday following losses from the financial shares and mixed performances from the technology and cement sectors.

For the day, the index eased 7.24 points or 0.04 percent to finish at 17,219.94 after trading between 17,139.21 and 17,233.11.

Among the actives, Mega Financial tanked 2.45 percent, while CTBC Financial fell 0.43 percent, Fubon Financial slid 0.51 percent, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company shed 0.68 percent, United Microelectronics Corporation added 0.33 percent, Largan Precision retreated 1.48 percent, Catcher Technology rallied 2.25 percent, MediaTek lost 0.66 percent, Delta Electronics skidded 1.25 percent, Asia Cement rose 0.33 percent, Taiwan Cement dipped 0.28 percent and Hon Hai Precision, Cathay Financial, First Financial, E Sun Financial, Formosa Plastic and Formosa Chemical were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street suggests mild upside as the major averages opened lower on Thursday but gradually broke into positive territory as the day progressed, ending in the green.

The Dow rose 14.48 points or 0.04 percent to finish at 35,499.85, while the NASDAQ added 51.13 points or 0.35 percent to close at 14,816.26 and the S&P 500 gained 13,13 points or 0.30 percent to end at 4,460.83.

The choppy trading on Wall Street comes as traders digest separate reports from the Labor Department on weekly jobless claims and producer price inflation.

The Labor Department said initial jobless claims edged down to 375,000 last week, a decrease of 12,000 from the previous week’s revised level of 387,000. Also, the Labor Department said its producer price index for final demand surged 1.0 percent in July, matching the jump in June.

Crude oil prices drifted lower Thursday on concerns about outlook for energy demand after an International Energy Agency report said oil demand growth will likely ebb in the second half of the year. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for September ended down by $0.16 or 0.2 percent at $69.09 a barrel.

Closer to home, Taiwan will provide final Q2 figures for gross domestic product later today, with forecasts suggesting an increase of 7.47 percent on year – easing from 8.92 percent in the three months prior.

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