Taiwan Stock Market Expected To Halt Losing Streak

(RTTNews) - The Taiwan stock market has ticked lower in back-to-back sessions, sinking more than 70 points or 0.5 percent along the way. The Taiwan Stock Exchange new sits just above the 14,730-point plateau although it's likely to stop the bleeding on Friday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is upbeat after the release of encouraging U.S. inflation data and what it means for interest rates, although it may already have largely been priced in. The European and U.S. markets were up and the Asian bourses are tipped to open in similar fashion.

The TSE finished slightly lower on Thursday following losses from the technology stocks, support from the cement companies and mixed performances from the financials and plastics.

For the day, the index slid 19.80 points or 0.13 percent to finish at 14,731.64 after trading between 14,700.73 and 14,813.31.

Among the actives, Cathay Financial collected 0.72 percent, while CTBC Financial dropped 0.87 percent, Fubon Financial strengthened 1.38 percent, First Financial stumbled 1.31 percent, E Sun Financial lost 0.62 percent, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company added 0.41 percent, Hon Hai Precision shed 0.50 percent, Largan Precision retreated 1.37 percent, Catcher Technology declined 1.42 percent, MediaTek climbed 1.13 percent, Delta Electronics plunged 3.15 percent, Novatek Microelectronics tumbled 1.71 percent, Formosa Plastics eased 0.23 percent, Nan Ya Plastics rose 0.41 percent, Asia Cement gained 0.48 percent, Taiwan Cement rallied 2.02 percent and United Microelectronics Corporation and Mega Financial were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is upbeat as the major averages shook off early weakness on Thursday and finally settled solidly in positive territory.

The Dow climbed 216.96 points or 0.64 percent to finish at 34,189.97, while the NASDAQ gained 69.43 points or 0.64 percent to close at 11,001.10 and the S&P 500 rose 13.56 points or 0.34 percent to end at 3,983.17.

The strength that emerged on Wall Street followed the release of highly anticipated consumer price inflation data, which largely was in line with forecasts.

The slower price growth eased concerns about the outlook for interest rates, although the Federal Reserve is still widely expected to raise rates by at least 25 basis points at its next meeting.

Oil futures settled higher on Thursday, gaining for a sixth straight session on a weaker dollar and data showing a slowdown in U.S. inflation. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for February added $0.98 or 1.3 percent at $78.39 a barrel.