Win Streak May End For Taiwan Stock Market

(RTTNews) - The Taiwan stock market has moved higher in back-to-back sessions, rallying more than 370 points or 1.8 percent along the way. The Taiwan Stock Exchange now sits just above the 21,550-point plateau although the rally may stall on Friday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is soft on persistent concerns over the outlook for interest rates. The European markets were mixed and flat and the U.S. bourses were down and the Asian markets figure to follow the latter lead.

The TSE finished modestly higher on Thursday following gains from the technology stocks, weakness from the plastics and a mixed performances from the financials.

For the day, the index rose 55.60 points or 0.26 percent to finish at 21,607.43 after trading between 21,475.99 and 21,668.84.

Among the actives, Cathay Financial tanked 2.14 percent, while Mega Financial slumped 1.11 percent, CTBC Financial rose 0.26 percent, First Financial increased 1.58 percent, Fubon Financial retreated 1.36 percent, E Sun Financial collected 0.53 percent, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company rallied 1.27 percent, United Microelectronics Corporation jumped 1.82 percent, Hon Hai Precision spiked 2.37 percent, Largan Precision tumbled 1.79 percent, Catcher Technology skidded 1.08 percent, MediaTek strengthened 1.69 percent, Delta Electronics added 0.61 percent, Novatek Microelectronics improved 1.63 percent, Formosa Plastics sank 0.74 percent, Nan Ya Plastics declined 1.47 percent, Asia Cement perked 0.11 percent, Taiwan Cement dropped 1.02 percent and China Steel stumbled 1.83 percent.

The lead from Wall Street is weak as the major averages opened mixed on Thursday but headed south as the day progressed to end firmly in the red.

The Dow plunged 605.78 points or 1.53 percent to finish at 39,065.26, while the NASDAQ sank 65.51 points or 0.39 percent to close at 16,736.03 and the S&P 500 lost 39.17 points or 0.74 percent to end at 5,267.84.

Initial strength on Wall Street came as tech stocks rallied following upbeat quarterly results from chipmaker Nvidia (NVDA), which reported better than expected fiscal first quarter results and provided upbeat guidance.

Buying interest waned shortly after the start of trading, however, as concerns about the outlook for interest rates continue to hang over the broader markets following Wednesday's slightly hawkish Fed minutes.

Potentially adding to the rate concerns, the Labor Department released a report showing first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits fell more than expected last week.

Oil futures settled lower on Thursday for a fourth straight session amid concerns about the outlook for demand, and on data showing an unexpected jump in crude inventories in the U.S. last week. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for July sank $0.70 or 0.9 percent at $76.87 a barrel.