Taiwan Stock Market May Inch Higher Again On Wednesday

(RTTNews) - The Taiwan stock market has finished higher in back-to-back sessions, advancing more than 510 points or 2.2 percent along the way. The Taiwan Stock Exchange now rests just shy of the 23,670-point plateau and it's expected to open slightly in the green again on Wednesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is flat to higher amidst a lack of strong catalysts. The European and U.S. markets finished barely higher and the Asian bourses are expected to follow that lead.

The TSE finished modestly higher on Tuesday following gains from the financial shares, weakness from the plastics companies and a mixed picture from the technology stocks.

For the day, the index climbed 160.78 points or 0.68 percent to finish at the daily high of 23,666.11 after trading as low as 23,454.09.

Among the actives, Mega Financial improved 0.77 percent, while First Financial collected 0.54 percent, Fubon Financial rose 0.32 percent, E Sun Financial perked 0.17 percent, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company rallied 1.38 percent, United Microelectronics Corporation dipped 0.12 percent, Hon Hai Precision gained 0.55 percent, Largan Precision sank 0.73 percent, Catcher Technology added 0.50 percent, MediaTek shed 0.65 percent, Delta Electronics plunged 3.69 percent, Formosa Plastics tanked 2.79 percent, Nan Ya Plastics slumped 1.20 percent, Asia Cement fell 0.24 percent and Novatek Microelectronics, CTBC Financial and Cathay Financial were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is flat to higher as the major averages spent most of Tuesday in the shallow red before a late push nudged them barely into positive territory at the close.

The Dow added 10.26 points or 0.02 percent to finish at 44,556.34, while the NASDAQ rose 14.49 points or 0.07 percent to close at 20,041.26 and the S&P gained 14.95 points or 0.24 percent to end at a record 6,139.58.

The choppy trading on Wall Street came as some traders remained on the sidelines following the Presidents' Day holiday on Monday.

In economic news, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York noted a turnaround by regional manufacturing activity in February. Also, the National Association of Home Builders said homebuilder confidence in the U.S. has unexpectedly deteriorated in February.

Oil prices moved higher on Tuesday on supply concerns after Ukraine launched a drone attack on an export pipeline in Russia. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for March settled at $71.85 a barrel, gaining $1.11, or 1.57 percent.