Taiwan Stock Market May Find Traction On Friday

(RTTNews) - The Taiwan stock market has finished lower in five straight sessions, sinking almost 3,950 points or 9.3 percent along the way. The Taiwan Stock Exchange now sits just above the 39,930-point plateau although it may stop the bleeding on Friday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is upbeat on bargain hunting and easing oil prices. The European and U.S. markets were up and the Asian bourses figure to open in similar fashion.

The TSE finished modestly lower again on Thursday following losses among the technology and plastics companies.

For the day, the index sank 105.88 points or 0.26 percent to finish at 39,933.30 after trading between 39,404.65 and 41,155.42.

The lead from Wall Street is firm as the major averages opened higher on Thursday and continued to track higher throughout the day, sending at session highs.

The Dow jumped 613.92 points or 1.19 percent to finish at 52,208.06, while the NASDAQ rallied 679.24 points or 2.78 percent to end at 25,122.18 and the S&P 500 climbed 121.48 points or 1.66 percent to close at 7,437.63.

Bargain hunting contributed to the strength among tech stocks after the NASDAQ plunged to a three-month closing low on Wednesday. The Dow and the S&P 500 also ended the session at their lowest closing levels in well over a month.

Microsoft (MSFT) led the tech rally on strong earnings, while semiconductors, airlines and gold stocks also lent support.

On the U.S. economic front, the Commerce Department said that consumer prices edged down in line with estimates in June, while the annual rate of growth also slowed as expected.

Crude oil prices slipped on Thursday as ongoing talks between Iran and Oman over the Strait of Hormuz management induced positivity on the resumption of the free flow of gulf oil. West Texas Intermediate crude for September delivery was down $0.65 or 0.77 percent at $83.81 per barrel.

Closer to home, Taiwan will see preliminary Q2 numbers for gross domestic product later today; in the three months prior, GDP was up 14.55 percent on year.