Higher Open Called For Taiwan Stock Market

(RTTNews) - The Taiwan stock market turned lower again on Thursday, one day after snapping the two-day slide in which it had slumped more than 260 points or 1.3 percent. The Taiwan Stock Exchange now sits just shy of the 20,550-point plateau, although it's likely to rebound again on Friday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is upbeat on easing trade concerns. The European and U.S. markets were mostly higher and the Asian bourses figure to follow that lead.

The TSE finished slightly lower on Thursday following weakness from the plastics companies and mixed performances from the financials and technology stocks.

For the day, the index eased 3.09 points or 0.02 percent to finish at the daily low of 20,543.40 after peaking at 20,747.28.

Among the actives, CTBC Financial collected 0.25 percent, while First Financial dipped 0.20 percent, Fubon Financial perked 0.13 percent, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company skidded 1.08 percent, United Microelectronics Corporation dropped 0.98 percent, Hon Hai Precision added 0.69 percent, Largan Precision jumped 1.67 percent, Catcher Technology sank 0.70 percent, MediaTek climbed 1.18 percent, Delta Electronics spiked 2.34 percent, Novatek Microelectronics tumbled 1.93 percent, Formosa Plastics tanked 2,86 percent, Nan Ya Plastics slumped 2.67 percent, Asia Cement declined 1.42 percent and Cathay Financial, Mega Financial and E Sun Financial were unchanged.

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

The Dow jumped 254.48 points or 0.62 percent to finish at 41,368.45, while the NASDAQ rallied 189.98 points or 1.07 percent to close at 17,928.14 and the S&P 500 gained 32.66 points or 0.58 percent to end at 5,663.94.

The strength on Wall Street came after President Donald Trump unveiled the framework of a trade agreement with the U.K.

Trump claimed the deal includes billions of dollars of increased market access for American exports, especially in agriculture, and will see the U.K. reduce or eliminate numerous non-tariff barriers.

In economic news, the Labor Department said first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits saw a modest decline last week. Also, the Labor Department noted a pullback by U.S. labor productivity in the first quarter of 2025 along with a sharp increase by unit labor costs.

Crude oil futures rallied on Thursday following news of the trade agreement between the United States and Great Britain. West Texas Intermediate crude for June delivery surged $1.84 or 3.2 percent to $59.91 a barrel.