Taiwan Shares Due For Traction On Friday

(RTTNews) - The Taiwan stock market has finished lower in consecutive trading days, clumping more than 1,550 points or 3.5 percent in that span. The Taiwan Stock Exchange now sits just beneath the 43,150-point plateau although it may stop the bleeding on Friday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is upbeat after the United States said it would hold off on fresh attacks in Iran. The European and U.S. markets were up and the Asian bourses are expected to follow them to the upside.

The TSE finished slightly lower on Thursday following mixed performances from the financial shares, technology stocks and plastics companies.

For the day, the index sank 76.08 points or 0.18 percent to finish at 43,149.46 after trading between 42,006.39 and 43,463.03.

Among the actives, Cathay Financial collected 0.60 percent, while CTBC Financial skidded 1.03 percent, First Financial rose 0.33 percent, Fubon Financial rallied 2.45 percent, E Sun Financial added 0.59 percent, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company fell 0.22 percent, United Microelectronics Corporation soared 5.49 percent, Hon Hai Precision tumbled 1.71 percent, Largan Precision improved 0.85 percent, Catcher Technology gained 0.49 percent, MediaTek retreated 1.68 percent, Delta Electronics tanked 1.82 percent, Novatek Microelectronics jumped 1.99 percent, Formosa Plastics declined 1.35 percent, Nan Ya Plastics spiked 2.22 percent, Asia Cement was up 0.29 percent and Mega Financial was unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is positive as the major averages opened modestly higher on Thursday but accelerated late in the day to finish sharply higher.

The Dow soared 929.97 points or 1.86 percent to finish at 60,848.75, while the NASDAQ rallied 640.16 points or 2.54 percent to end at 25,809.66 and the S&P 500 jumped 127.31 points or 1.75 percent to end at 7,394.30.

The late-day rally on Wall Street came as crude oil prices plunged after President Donald Trump called off previously announced attacks against Iran.

Bargain hunting also contributed to the surge following the weakness seen during Wednesday's session, which dragged the NASDAQ and S&P 500 down to their lowest closing levels in a month.

Meanwhile, traders seemed to shrug off a report from the Labor Department showing producer prices increased by more than expected in May.

Crude oil prices plunged on Thursday after Trump recalled his earlier orders to attack Iran. West Texas Intermediate crude for July delivery was down $2.81 or 3.12 percent at $87.22 per barrel.