Taiwan Bourse May Extend Winning Streak

The Taiwan stock market has finished higher in three straight sessions, advancing more than 240 points or 1.5 percent along the way. The Taiwan Stock Exchange now rests just beneath the 16,720-point plateau and it has another positive lead for Thursday’s trade.

The global forecast for the Asian markets suggests mild upside on improved optimism over the outlook for interest rates. European markets were mixed and the U.S. bourses were up and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.

The TSE finished modestly higher on Wednesday following gains from the financial shares and technology stocks.

For the day, the index advanced 96.17 points or 0.58 percent to finish at 16,719.82 after trading between 16,666.33 and 16,780.42.

Among the actives, Cathay Financial perked 0.11 percent, while Mega Financial shed 0.41 percent, CTBC Financial lost 0.42 percent, Fubon Financial collected 0.16 percent, E Sun Financial advanced 0.81 percent, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company added 0.54 percent, United Microelectronics Corporation soared 2.43 percent, Largan Precision spiked 2.47 percent, Catcher Technology surged 3.51 percent, MediaTek eased 0.14 percent, Novatek Microelectronics rose 0.38 percent, Nan Ya Plastics climbed 0.90 percent, Asia Cement increased 0.25 percent, Taiwan Cement fell 0.28 percent, China Steel improved 0.57 percent and Hon Hai Precision, Delta Electronics, First Financial and Formosa Plastics were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street ends up positive as the major averages opened higher on Wednesday, survived some early volatility and managed to finish in the green.

The Dow added 37.57 points or 0.11 percent to finish at 34,890.24, while the NASDAQ jumped 75.55 points or 0.11 percent to close at 14,019.31 and the S&P 500 rose 17.24 points or 0.38 percent to end at 4,514.87.

The strength on Wall Street came following the release of a report from payroll processor ADP showing a notable slowdown in the pace of private sector job growth in August.

The slightly smaller than expected increase in private sector employment added to recent optimism about the outlook for interest rates.

Separately, revised data from the Commerce Department showed the U.S. economy grew less than previously estimated in the second quarter.

Crude oil prices climbed higher Wednesday after data showed a big drop in U.S. crude inventories last week. The dollar’s continued weakness and the impact of Hurricane Idalia on oil fields along Florida’s Gulf Coast also supported prices. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for October rose $0.47 or 0.6 percent at $81.63 a barrel.