Renewed Support Anticipated For Taiwan Shares

(RTTNews) - The Taiwan stock market on Thursday ended the four-day winning streak in which it had collected more than 120 points or 0.8 percent. The Taiwan Stock Exchange now rests just above the 15,800-point plateau, although it figures to bounce higher again on Friday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is upbeat thanks to easing concerns over inflation and interest rates. The European and U.S. markets were up and the Asian bourses are expected to open in similar fashion.

The TSE finished modestly lower on Thursday following mixed performances from the financial shares, technology stocks and cement companies.

For the day, the index dropped 128.21 points or 0.80 percent to finish at 15,804.76 after trading between 15,800.42 and 15,913.20.

Among the actives, Cathay Financial sank 0.81 percent, while Mega Financial collected 0.45 percent, CTBC Financial strengthened 1.36 percent, First Financial perked 0.19 percent, Fubon Financial was up 0.17 percent, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company tumbled 1.92 percent, United Microelectronics Corporation dropped 0.96 percent, Hon Hai Precision added 0.49 percent, Largan Precision shed 0.69 percent, Catcher Technology rose 0.27 percent, MediaTek skidded 1.06 percent, Delta Electronics gained 0.67 percent, Novatek Microelectronics retreated 1.21 percent, Formosa Plastics improved 0.54 percent, Asia Cement lost 0.46 percent, Taiwan Cement gathered 0.27 percent, China Steel climbed 1.13 percent and E Sun Financial and Nan Ya Plastics were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is solid as the major averages opened slightly higher on Thursday but accelerated as the day progressed, ending near session highs.

The Dow surged 383.19 points or 1.14 percent to finish at 34,029.69, while the NASDAQ spiked 236.93 points or 1.99 percent to end at 12,166.27 and the S&P 500 jumped54.27 points or 1.33 percent to close at 4,146.22.

The rally on Wall Street came following a report from the Labor Department showing an unexpected decrease in U.S. producer prices in March.

Combined with Wednesday's tamer-than-expected consumer price inflation data, the report helped ease concerns about inflation and the outlook for interest rates.

A separate Labor Department report showed first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits rose more than expected last week.

Crude oil prices drifted lower Thursday as weak data and worries about a U.S. recession raised concerns about the outlook for oil demand. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for May slumped $1.10 or 1.3 percent at $82.16 a barrel.