Additional Support Tipped For Taiwan Stock Market

(RTTNews) - The Taiwan stock market on Wednesday ended the two-day losing streak in which it had fallen more than 110 points or 0.6 percent. The Taiwan Stock Exchange now sits just beneath the 22,050-point plateau and it may add to its winnings on Thursday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is generally upbeat following the FOMC's rate decision. The European markets were up and the U.S. bourses were mixed and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.

The TSE finished sharply higher on Wednesday following gains from the technology and cement companies, while the financials were mixed and the plastics were soft.

For the day, the index spiked 256.84 points or 1.18 percent to finish at 22,048.96 after trading between 21,841.81 and 22,094.94.

Among the actives, Cathay Financial retreated 1.36 percent, while Mega Financial perked 0.13 percent, CTBC Financial added 0.40 percent, Fubon Financial tumbled 1.68 percent, E Sun Financial collected 0.52 percent, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company accelerated 2.94 percent, United Microelectronics Corporation and First Financial both shed 0.36 percent, Hon Hai Precision soared 3.88 percent, Largan Precision skyrocketed 6.55 percent, Catcher Technology dipped 0.22 percent, MediaTek spiked 2.36 percent, Delta Electronics climbed 1.03 percent, Novatek Microelectronics jumped 2.02 percent, Formosa Plastics dropped 0.98 percent, Nan Ya Plastics slumped 1.38 percent, Asia Cement was up 0.12 percent, Taiwan Cement gained 0.46 percent and China Steel slid 0.21 percent.

The lead from Wall Street is cautiously optimistic as the major averages opened higher on Wednesday, although the Dow couldn't hold its gains and slipped into the red.

The Dow shed 35.21 points or 0.09 percent to finish at 38,712.21, while the NASDAQ rallied 264.89 points or 1.53 percent to close at 17,608.44 and the S&P 500 gained 45.71 points or 0.85 percent to end at 5,421.03.

The early rally on Wall Street followed the release of a Labor Department report showing U.S. consumer prices were unexpectedly flat in May, which led to renewed optimism about the outlook for interest rates.

But later in the day, the Federal Reserve's monetary policy announcement revealed that officials now expect only one interest rate cut this year.

The Fed acknowledged modest further progress toward its inflation objective in recent months but said officials still need greater confidence that inflation is moving sustainably towards the target before they will consider lowering rates.

Oil prices climbed higher Wednesday on hopes of increased demand and tighter supply conditions later in the year, as well as a weak dollar. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for July rose $0.60 at $78.50 a barrel.