Taiwan Stock Market Tipped To End Losing Streak

The Taiwan stock market has finished lower in two straight sessions, shedding almost 300 points or 1.3 percent in that span. The Taiwan Stock Exchange now sits just above the 22,575-point plateau, although it’s due to find traction on Monday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is upbeat on bargain hunting and an improved outlook for interest rates. The European markets were down and the U.S. bourses were up and the Asian markets figure to follow the latter lead.

The TSE finished modestly lower on Friday following losses from the technology stocks an mixed performances from the financial shares and plastics companies.

For the day, the index lost 139.33 points or 0.61 percent to finish at 22,576.07 after trading between 22,542.08 and 22,747.11.

Among the actives, Mega Financial fell 0.38 percent, while CTBC Financial and Fubon Financial both perked 0.16 percent, First Financial shed 0.54 percent, E Sun Financial skidded 1.03 percent, United Microelectronics Corporation rose 0.34 percent, Hon Hai Precision sank 0.86 percent, Largan Precision tumbled 1.64 percent, MediaTek surrendered 2.01 percent, Delta Electronics tanked 2.22 percent, Formosa Plastics was up 0.13 percent, Nan Ya Plastics eased 0.15 percent, Asia Cement gained 0.57 percent and Cathay Financial, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, Catcher Technology and Novatek Microelectronics were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is positive as the major averages opened higher on Friday, dipped midday but rebounded into the green by the close.

The Dow climbed 222.62 points or 0.52 percent to finish at 42,801.72, while the NASDAQ rallied 126.92 points or 0.70 percent to close at 18,196.22 and the S&P 500 gained 31.68 points or 0.55 percent to end at 5,770.20. For the week, the NASDAQ plunged 3.5 percent, the S&P 500 sank 3.1 percent and the Dow slumped 2.4 percent.

The volatility on Wall followed the release of the closely watched Labor Department report showing employment in the U.S. increased less than expected in February.

While the report added to recent concerns about the strength for the economy, the data may also have generated some optimism about the outlook for interest rates.

Bargain hunting contributed to the afternoon recovery, which came even though Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell reiterated the central bank does not “need to be in a hurry” to adjusted interest rates amid uncertainty about the effects of President Donald Trump’s policies.

Crude oil prices faded after an early surge but still remained notably higher on Friday, adding to the modest gain posted in the previous session. West Texas Intermediate for April delivery climbed $0.68 cents or 1.0 percent to $67.04 a barrel.