Taiwan Stock Market May Get A Boost From Tech Shares

(RTTNews) - The Taiwan stock market on Thursday halted the four-day winning streak in which it had jumped more than 410 points or 2.5 percent. The Taiwan Stock Exchange now sits just above the 16,730-point plateau although it's expected to bounce higher again on Friday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is upbeat on easing concerns over the outlook for interest rates. The European markets were mixed and the U.S. bourses were up and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.

The TSE finished sharply lower on Thursday following losses from the technology and plastics sectors, while the financials and cement companies were mixed.

For the day, the index stumbled 188.79 points or 1.12 percent to finish at 16,733.69 after trading between 16,694.21 and 16,899.51.

Among the actives, Cathay Financial stumbled 1.76 percent, while Mega Financial advanced 0.81 percent, CTBC Financial collected 0.20 percent, First Financial perked 0.18 percent, Fubon Financial declined 1.62 percent, E Sun Financial fell 0.37 percent, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company retreated 1.58 percent, United Microelectronics Corporation rose 0.39 percent, Hon Hai Precision dropped 0.93 percent, Largan Precision tumbled 2.00 percent, Catcher Technology shed 0.53 percent, Delta Electronics skidded 1.07 percent, Novatek Microelectronics eased 0.11 percent, Formosa Plastics dipped 0.21 percent, Nan Ya Plastics slid 0.25 percent, Asia Cement gained 0.56 percent, Taiwan Cement sank 0.77 percent, China Steel slumped 0.50 percent and MediaTek was unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is positive as the major averages shook off a flat lead on Thursday and climbed steadily throughout the session, ending solidly in the green.

The Dow climbed 168.59 points or 0.50 percent to finish at 33,833.61, while the NASDAQ jumped 133.63 points or 1.02 percent to close at 13,238.52 and the S&P 500 rose 26.41 points or 0.62 percent to end at 4,293.93.

The strength on Wall Street reflected easing concerns about the outlook for interest rates following the Labor Department report showing initial jobless claims increased by much more than expected last week.

While jobless claims can be volatile around holidays like Memorial Day, the data seems to have added to optimism that the Federal Reserve will pause its interest rate hikes at Wednesday's meeting.

Crude oil prices regained ground after a midday sell-off but still ended Thursday's trading session firmly in negative territory as concerns about the outlook for energy demand continued to weigh on the markets. West Texas Intermediate for July shed $1.24 or 1.7 percent at $71.29 a barrel.