Taiwan Bourse Due For Support On Friday

The Taiwan stock market has moved lower in back-to-back sessions, stumbling almost 275 points or 1.4 percent along the way. The Taiwan Stock Exchange now sits just above the 20,220-point plateau although it may stop the bleeding on Friday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is upbeat on an improved outlook for interest rates. The European markets were mixed and the U.S. bourses were up and the Asian markets figure to follow the latter lead.

The TSE finished modestly lower on Thursday as losses from the financial shares and technology stocks were tempered by support from the cement and plastics companies.

For the day, the index slumped 174.16 points or 0.85 percent to finish at the daily low of 20,222.44 after peaking at 20,360.67.

Among the actives, Cathay Financial lost 0.40 percent, while Mega Financial eased 0.12 percent, Fubon Financial dipped 0.14 percent, E Sun Financial collected 0.18 percent, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company tanked 2.28 percent, United Microelectronics Corporation sank 0.79 percent, Hon Hai Precision retreated 1.28 percent, Largan Precision shed 0.69 percent, Catcher Technology added 0.46 percent, MediaTek advanced 0.81 percent, Delta Electronics plunged 3.43 percent, Novatek Microelectronics fell 0.32 percent, Formosa Plastics gained 0.44 percent, Nan Ya Plastics rallied 1.23 percent, Asia Cement rose 0.23 percent, Taiwan Cement improved 0.78 percent, China Steel gathered 0.40 percent and CTBC Financial and First Financial were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is firm as the major averages opened higher on Thursday and continued to strengthen as the day progressed, ending near session highs.

The Dow jumped 322.37 points or 0.85 percent to finish at 38,225.66, while the NASDAQ rallied 235.48 points or 1.51 percent to close at 15,840.96 and the S&P 500 advanced 45.81 points or 0.91 percent to end at 5,064.20.

The strength that emerged on Wall Street came as traders breathed a sigh of relief following the Federal Reserve's monetary policy announcement on Wednesday. Traders had expressed some concerns the Fed's next monetary policy move could actually be an interest rate hike rather than a cut, but Fed Chair Jerome Powell post-meeting alleviated those worries.

Earlier in the day, stocks saw volatility as traders reacted to the latest batch of U.S. economic data, including a Labor Department report showing a surge by labor costs in the first quarter of 2024. A separate Labor Department showed initial jobless claims came in unchanged last week, while a Commerce Department report showed the U.S. trade deficit narrowed slightly in March.

Oil futures failed to hold early gains and settled slightly lower on Thursday amid easing concerns over supply disruptions and worries about the outlook for economic growth and energy demand. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for June ended down by $0.05 at $78.95 a barrel.

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