Taiwan Stock Market May Run Out Of Steam On Thursday

(RTTNews) - The Taiwan stock market has climbed higher in four straight sessions, gathering more than 120 points or 0.8 percent along the way. The Taiwan Stock Exchange now rests just above the 15,930-point plateau, although it's expected to open under pressure on Thursday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is soft on concerns over interest rates and the economy. The European markets were up and the U.S. bourses were down and the Asian markets are tipped to follow the latter lead.

The TSE finished slightly higher on Wednesday following gains from the financial shares and technology stocks.

For the day, the index rose 19.09 points or 0.12 percent to finish at 15,932.97 after trading between 15,867.02 and 15,944.32.

Among the actives, Cathay Financial collected 0.70 percent, while CTBC Financial improved 0.69 percent, First Financial perked 0.19 percent, Fubon Financial gained 0.35 percent, E Sun Financial was up 0.20 percent, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company sank 0.76 percent, United Microelectronics Corporation advanced 0.97 percent, Hon Hai Precision dropped 0.97 percent, Largan Precision added 0.46 percent, Catcher Technology sank 0.81 percent, MediaTek rose 0.26 percent, Delta Electronics eased 0.17 percent, AU Optronics gathered 0.53 percent, Novatek Microelectronics tumbled 1.73 percent, Asia Cement shed 0.45 percent, China Steel increased 0.69 percent and Mega Financial, Taiwan Cement, Formosa Plastics and Nan Ya Plastics were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is negative as the major averages opened higher on Wednesday and bounced back and forth across the unchanged line before finally settling in the red.

The Dow shed 38.29 points or 0.11 percent to finish at 33,646.50, while the NASDAQ slumped 102.54 points or 0.85 percent to end at 11,929.34 and the S&P 500 lost 16.99 points or 0.41 percent to close at 4,091.95.

Stocks initially benefited from a positive reaction to a Labor Department report showing U.S. consumer prices increased by less than expected in the month of March.

Stocks turned lower over the course of the morning, however, as many economists said they still expect the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates by another quarter point early next month.

While buying interest reemerged later in the session, stocks moved back to the downside after the minutes of the latest Fed meeting suggested the recent banking sector turmoil could lead to a recession.

Crude oil prices moved spiked on Wednesday as tamer-than-expected inflation data contributed to an extended pullback in the value of the U.S. dollar. West Texas Intermediate for May delivery shot up $1.73 or 2.1 percent to $83.26 a barrel.