Higher Open Called For Taiwan Stock Market

(RTTNews) - The Taiwan stock market on Thursday snapped the three-day winning streak in which it had rallied almost 660 points or 2.2 percent. The Taiwan Stock Exchange now sits just above the 30,800-point plateau although it may reverse those losses on Friday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is cautiously optimistic, although any upside is likely to be capped by profit taking and slumping oil prices. The European markets were mixed and the U.S. bourses were up and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.

The TSE finished modestly lower on Thursday as losses from the technology stocks were mitigated by support from the financial shares and plastics companies.

For the day, the index stumbled 131.20 points or 0.42 percent to finish at 30,810.58 after trading between 30,663.87 and 30,877.31.

Among the actives, Mega Financial collected 0.37 percent, while CTBC Financial rallied 2.23 percent, First Financial vaulted 1.36 percent, Fubon Financial rose 0.32 percent, E Sun Financial added 0.46 percent, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company skidded 1.17 percent, United Microelectronics Corporation expanded 1.30 percent, Hon Hai Precision shed 0.43 percent, Largan Precision sank 0.82 percent, Catcher Technology lost 0.47 percent, MediaTek slumped 0.67 percent, Delta Electronics retreated 1.42 percent, Novatek Microelectronics dropped 0.91 percent, Formosa Plastics soared 3.78 percent, Nan Ya Plastics skyrocketed 9.94 percent, Asia Cement fell 0.27 percent and Cathay Financial was unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is positive as the major averages opened higher on Thursday and remained in the green throughout the trading day.

The Dow jumped 292.81 points or 0.60 percent to finish at 49,442.44, while the NASDAQ added 58.27 points or 0.25 percent to close at 23,530.02 and the S&P 500 rose 17.87 points or 0.26 percent to end at 6,944.47.

The early strength on Wall Street reflected a positive reaction to earnings news from Taiwan Semiconductor (TSM), with the chipmaker surging by 4.4 percent.

Taiwan Semiconductor jumped after reporting a sharp increase in fourth quarter profits and announced larger-than-expected capital spending plans, contributing to renewed confidence in the artificial intelligence trade.

Positive sentiment may also have been generated by a Labor Department report showing first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits unexpectedly dipped last week.

Crude oil prices plummeted on Thursday as the potential for a U.S.-Iran confrontation diminished for the time being. West Texas Intermediate crude for February delivery was down $2.83 or 4.56 percent at $59.19 per barrel.