Taiwan Shares Tipped To Open In The Green

(RTTNews) - The Taiwan stock market has moved higher in two straight sessions, advancing more than 40 points or 0.3 percent along the way. The Taiwan Stock Exchange now rests just above the 15,410-point plateau and it's looking at additional support again on Friday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is upbeat thanks to an earnings-driven rally among technology stocks. The European markets were mixed and the U.S. bourses were sharply higher and the Asian markets figure to follow the latter leads.

The TSE finished modestly higher on Thursday as gains from the technology stocks were dented by weakness from the financial shares and a mixed performance from the cement companies.

For the day, the index added 36.86 points or 0.24 percent to finish at 15,411.49 after trading between 15,306.69 and 15,455.88.

Among the actives, Cathay Financial slid 0.24 percent, while Mega Financial shed 0.44 percent, CTBC Financial dipped 0.22 0.22 percent, First Financial eased 0.18 percent, Fubon Financial was down 0.17 percent, E Sun Financial lost 0.60 percent, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company rose 0.41 percent, United Microelectronics Corporation advanced 0.93 percent, Largan Precision retreated 1.46 percent, MediaTek spiked 2.00 percent, Delta Electronics added 0.51 percent, Novatek Microelectronics fell 0.36 percent, Formosa Plastics perked 0.11 percent, Nan Ya Plastics sank 0.38 percent, Asia Cement declined 0.34 percent, Taiwan Cement skidded 1.15 percent, China Steel slumped 1.37 percent and Hon Hai Precision and Catcher Technology were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is broadly positive as the major averages opened higher on Thursday and accelerated as the day progressed, ending near session highs.

The Dow surged 524.29 points or 1.57 percent to finish at 33,826.16, while the NASDAQ soared 287.89 points or 2.43 percent to end at 12,142.24 and the S&P 500 jumped 79.36 points or 1.96 percent to close at 4,135.35.

The rally on Wall Street partly reflected a positive reaction to upbeat earnings news from Facebook parent Meta Platforms (META), which reported better than expected first quarter results and provided upbeat guidance for the current quarter.

Media conglomerate Comcast (CMCSA) also moved sharply higher after reporting first quarter earnings that exceeded analyst estimates. Big-name companies like eBay (EBAY), Honeywell (HON) and Eli Lilly (LLY) also posted strong gains after reporting their quarterly results.

Meanwhile, traders shrugged off a Commerce Department report showing U.S. economic growth slowed more than expected in the first quarter of 2023. Also, the Labor Department said first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits unexpectedly declined last week.

Crude oil prices climbed higher on Thursday, supported by data showing a drop in crude inventories in the U.S. last week. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for June ended higher by $0.46 or 0.6 percent at $74.76 a barrel.

Closer to home, Taiwan will release Q1 data for gross domestic product later today, with forecasts suggesting a contraction of 1.25 percent following the 0.41 percent decline in the previous three months.