Tech-Fueled Rebound Expected For Taiwan Shares

(RTTNews) - The Taiwan stock market on Wednesday snapped the modest two-day winning streak in which it had picked up more than 100 points or 0.4 percent. The Taiwan Stock Exchange now sits just beneath the 22,200-point plateau although it figures to bounce higher again on Thursday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is upbeat on an improved outlook for interest rates. The European and U.S. markets were solidly higher and the Asian bourses are expected to follow suit.

The TSE finished slightly lower on Wednesday following gains from the financials and a mixed picture from the technology stocks.

For the day, the index dipped 24.22 points or 0.11 percent to finish at 22,199.35 after trading between 22,046.29 and 22,315.31.

Among the actives, Cathay Financial rallied 1.13 percent, while Mega Financial improved 1.05 percent, CTBC Financial collected 0.57 percent, Fubon Financial jumped 1.97 percent, E Sun Financial strengthened 1.14 percent, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company shed 0.64 percent, United Microelectronics Corporation advanced 0.80 percent, Hon Hai Precision climbed 1.02 percent, Largan Precision plunged 3.43 percent, Catcher Technology lost 0.47 percent, MediaTek tanked 2.79 percent, Delta Electronics surged 3.62 percent, Novatek Microelectronics retreated 1.51 percent, Nan Ya Plastics gained 0.91 percent, Asia Cement rose 0.36 percent and First Financial and Formosa Plastics were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is broadly positive as the major averages opened higher on Wednesday and remained in the green throughout the session.

The Dow gained 99.46 points or 0.24 percent to finish at 40,842.79, while the NASDAQ surged 451.98 points or 2.64 percent to end at 17,599.40 and the S&P 500 rallied 85.86 points or 1.58 percent to close at 5,522.30.

The early rally on Wall Street reflected a positive reaction to the latest corporate earnings news from companies like Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), Starbucks (SBUX) and DuPont (DD).

Stocks continued to see strength after the Federal Reserve's monetary policy announcement. While the Fed left interest rates unchanged, as expected, minor changes to the accompanying statement may hint at future rate cuts.

Fed Chair Jerome Powell said in his post-meeting press conference that a rate cut in September would be "on the table" if economic data continues on its current path.

Oil prices rose sharply Wednesday amid concerns about possible supply disruptions due to rising tensions in the Middle East, and on data showing a larger than expected drop in U.S. crude inventories last week. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for September ended up $3.18 or 4.3 percent at $77.91 a barrel.