Tech Shares May Boost Taiwan Stock Market

(RTTNews) - The Taiwan stock market bounced higher again on Thursday, one day after snapping the three-day winning streak in which it had jumped almost 950 points or 3.1 percent. The Taiwan Stock Exchange now sits just shy of the 31,750-point plateau and it's got a green light again for Friday's trade.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is positive on easing geopolitical tensions regarding Greenland. The European and U.S. markets were up and the Asian bourses are expected to follow that lead.

The TSE finished sharply higher on Thursday following gains from the technology and plastics companies, while the financial sector came in mixed.

For the day, the index rallied 499.71 points or 1.60 percent to finish at 31,746.08 after trading between 31,371.13 and 31,890.62.

Among the actives, Cathay Financial and Mega Financial both dipped 0.13 percent, while CTBC Financial collected 0.40 percent, First Financial fell 0.17 percent, E Sun Financial added 0.45 percent, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company climbed 1.15 percent, United Microelectronics Corporation skidded 1.17 percent, Hon Hai Precision jumped 2.05 percent, Largan Precision shed 0.20 percent, Catcher Technology dropped 0.98 percent, MediaTek rallied 1.37 percent, Delta Electronics skyrocketed 9.69 percent, Novatek Microelectronics vaulted 1.59 percent, Formosa Plastics soared 4.19 percent, Nan Ya Plastics surged 5.56 percent, Asia Cement was down 0.14 percent and Fubon Financial was unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is firm as the major averages opened higher on Thursday and spent the entire session in the green.

The Dow jumped 306.78 points or 0.63 percent to finish at 49,384.01, while the NASDAQ climbed 211.20 points or 0.91 percent to end at 23,436.02 and the S&P 500 added 37.73 points or 0.55 percent to close at 6,913.35.

The extended rebound on Wall Street came as stocks continued to benefit from easing tensions after President Donald Trump ruled out the use of military force to acquire Greenland.

Some analysts see the strength on Wall Street as a return of the "TACO trade," meaning "Trump Always Chickens Out," as the president is often seen as backing down after scaring the markets with threats of new tariffs.

In economic news, the Labor Department noted a slight uptick in first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits last week. Also, the Commerce Department said consumer prices increased in line with estimates in November.

Crude oil prices plunged on Thursday as investors assessed data on U.S. crude oil inventories, which shot up much more than expected last week. West Texas Intermediate crude for March delivery was down $1.29 or 2.13 percent at $59.33 per barrel.

Closer to home, Taiwan will see December numbers for industrial production later today; in November, production was up 16.42 percent on year.