Win Streak May Continue For Taiwan Stock Market

(RTTNews) - Ahead of the long weekend for the National Day holiday, the Taiwan stock market had moved higher in back-to-back sessions, gathering almost 250 points or 1.6 percent along the way. The Taiwan Stock Exchange now sits just above the 16,520-point plateau and it's expected to see additional support on Wednesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is positive on optimism over the outlook for interest rates and easing bond yields. The European and U.S. markets were up and the Asian bourses figure to open in similar fashion.

The TSE finished modestly higher on Friday following gains from the financial shares, plastics and cement companies, while the technology stocks were mixed.

For the day, the index gained 67.07 points or 0.41 percent to finish at 16,520.57 after trading between 16,482.93 and 16,539.13.

Among the actives, Cathay Financial climbed 1.14 percent, while CTBC Financial collected 0.62 percent, First Financial strengthened 1.34 percent, Fubon Financial rose 0.33 percent, E Sun Financial advanced 0.83 percent, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company improved 0.76 percent, United Microelectronics Corporation perked 0.11 percent, Hon Hai Precision jumped 1.93 percent, Largan Precision retreated 1.42 percent, Catcher Technology sank 0.82 percent, Delta Electronics dipped 0.15 percent, Novatek Microelectronics tanked 2.04 percent, Formosa Plastics gathered 0.13 percent, Nan Ya Plastics accelerated 0.93 percent, Asia Cement rallied 1.40 percent, Taiwan Cement was up 0.15 percent, China Steel gained 0.41 percent and MediaTek and Mega Financial were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is upbeat as the major averages opened higher on Tuesday and accelerated as the day progressed, although late profit taking saw them end well off session highs.

The Dow climbed 134.65 points or 0.40 percent to finish at 33,739.30, while the NASDAQ gained 78.60 points or 0.58 percent to close at 13,562.84 and the S&P 500 added 22.58 points or 0.52 percent to end at 4,358.24.

Despite concerns about the ongoing war in the Middle East, the mood on Wall Street was fairly positive as dovish comments from some Federal Reserve officials lowered expectations for further interest rate hikes and pushed down bond yields.

In economic news, the International Monetary Fund downgraded its global growth forecast for next year, saying the projections are weakest in decades, while the likelihood of a soft-landing has increased with growing divergences amid modestly easing inflationary pressures.

Crude oil prices fell on Tuesday as traders assessed the likely impact of potential supply disruptions due to the ongoing war in the Middle East. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for November shed $0.41 or 0.5 percent at $85.97 a barrel.