Taiwan Shares May Run Out Of Steam On Friday

(RTTNews) - The Taiwan stock market has moved higher in four straight sessions, collecting almost 400 points or 2.4 percent along the way. The Taiwan Stock Exchange now rests just above the 16,770-point plateau although investors may cash in on Friday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is negative on apprehension over the outlook for interest rates. The European markets were mixed and the U.S. bourses were down and the Asian markets figure to follow the latter lead.

The TSE finished sharply higher on Thursday following gains from the technology stocks and plastics companies, while the financials were mixed.

For the day, the index climbed 193.97 points or 1.17 percent to finish at 16,770.87 after trading between 16,651.03 and 16,822.36.

Among the actives, Cathay Financial eased 0.11 percent, while Mega Financial jumped 1.56 percent, CTBC Financial collected 0.63 percent, First Financial added 0.57 percent, Fubon Financial gained 0.80 percent, E Sun Financial lost 0.61 percent, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company spiked 2.17 percent, United Microelectronics Corporation rallied 2.19 percent, Hon Hai Precision soared 2.82 percent, Largan Precision plunged 2.28 percent, Catcher Technology shed 0.59 percent, MediaTek surged 2.98 percent, Delta Electronics accelerated 2.59 percent, Novatek Microelectronics strengthened 1.30 percent, Formosa Plastics increased 0.38 percent, Nan Ya Plastics improved 0.46 percent, Asia Cement perked 0.13 percent, China Steel fell 0.38 percent and Taiwan Cement was unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is soft as the major averages opened higher on Thursday but quickly turned lower and finished deep under water.

The Dow plunged 373.56 points or 1.08 percent to finish at 34,099.42, while the NASDAQ tumbled 257.06 points or 1.87 percent to close at 13,463.97 and the S&P 500 sank 59.70 points or 1.35 percent to end at 4,376.31.

The initial strength on Wall Street reflected a positive reaction to Q2 results from chipmaker Nvidia (NVDA), which reported strong earnings and guidance after markets close on Wednesday.

Buying interest waned shortly after the start of trading, however, with concerns about the outlook for interest rates continuing to weigh on the markets ahead of the economic symposium later today in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.

In economic news, the Commerce Department said new orders for U.S. manufactured durable goods tumbled more than expected in July. Also, the Labor Department noted a modest decrease in first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits last week.

Crude oil futures settled higher Thursday on expectations that Saudi Arabia will extend its production cut into the next month. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for October ended higher by $0.16 or 0.2 percent at $79.05 a barrel.