Taiwan Shares Poised To Erase Thursday's Losses

(RTTNews) - The Taiwan stock market has alternated between positive and negative finishes through the last four trading days since the end of the three-day losing streak in which it had tumbled almost 350 points or 2.2 percent. The Taiwan Stock Exchange now rests just above the 15,220-point plateau although it may see renewed selling support on Friday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is upbeat on easing concerns over the ability of financial markets. The European and U.S. markets were sharply higher and the Asian bourses are expected to follow that lead.

The TSE finished sharply lower on Thursday following losses from the financial shares, steel companies and technology stocks, while the plastic and cement issues were mixed.

For the day, the index skidded 166.47 points or 1.08 percent to finish at 15,221.12 after trading between 15,186.74 and 15,334.25.

Among the actives, Cathay Financial plummeted 2.41 percent, while Mega Financial skidded 1.09 percent, CTBC Financial plunged 3.02 percent, Fubon Financial tanked 2.48 percent, First Financial declined 0.39 percent, E Sun Financial tumbled 1.88 percent, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company shed 0.64 percent, United Microelectronics Corporation added 0.58 percent, Hon Hai Precision lost 0.49 percent, Largan Precision fell 0.62 percent, Catcher Technology slid 0.27 percent, MediaTek dipped 0.26 percent, Delta Electronics dropped 0.87 percent, Novatek Microelectronics eased 0.12 percent, Formosa Plastics slumped 0.56 percent, Nan Ya Plastics improved 0.54 percent, China Steel was down 0.33 percent, Asia Cement perked 0.12 percent and Taiwan Cement surrendered 2.02 percent.

The lead from Wall Street is broadly positive as the major averages quickly shook off a soft start on Thursday and accelerated firmly into positive territory, finishing near session highs.

The Dow surged 371.98 points or 1,17 percent to finish at 32,246.55, while the NASDAQ rallied 283.22 points or 2.48 percent to end at 11,717.28 and the S&P 500 jumped68.35 points or 1.76 percent to close at 3,960.28.

Stocks rallied following news that 11 banks including JPMorgan Chase (JPM) and Morgan Stanley (MS) have pledged $30 billion to support First Republic Bank (FRC) to shore up the beleaguered lender.

News that Credit Suisse will borrow up to $54 billion from the Swiss central bank to shore up liquidity and investor confidence also helped ease recent concerns about turmoil in the banking sector.

In economic news, the Labor Department said first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits pulled back more than expected last week. Also, the Labor Department reported that import prices edged slightly lower in February.

Crude oil prices climbed higher Thursday on reports that Saudi Arabia's energy minister and Russia's deputy prime minister met to discuss about ways to enhance market stability. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for April climbed $0.74 or 1.1 percent at $68.35 a barrel.