Taiwan Bourse May Crack Resistance At 18,000 Points

(RTTNews) – The Taiwan stock market has climbed higher in three straight sessions, gathering more than 270 points or 1.5 percent along the way. The Taiwan Stock Exchange now sits just beneath the 17,950-point plateau and it’s tipped to open in the green again on Friday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is upbeat on easing virus concerns, rising crude oil prices and solid economic data. The European and U.S. markets were up and the Asian markets are expected to open in similar fashion.

The TSE finished modestly higher on Thursday following gains from the financial shares and cement stocks, while the technology companies were mixed.

For the day, the index gained 119.83 points or 0.67 percent to finish at 17,946.66 after trading between 17,855.78 and 17,960.99.

Among the actives, Cathay Financial collected 0.33 percent, while Mega Financial fell 0.42 percent, CTBC Financial increased 0.39 percent, Fubon Financial gained 0.54 percent, First Financial was up 0.21 percent, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company advanced 1.00 percent, United Microelectronics Corporation rose 0.31 percent, Hon Hai Precision added 0.48 percent, Largan Precision shed 0.61 percent, Catcher Technology lost 0.64 percent, MediaTek improved 0.92 percent, Delta Electronics jumped 1.69 percent, Formosa Plastic perked 1.46 percent, Asia Cement spiked 0.91 percent, Taiwan Cement rallied 0.63 percent and E Sun Financial was unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is positive as the major averages opened higher on Thursday and remained comfortably in the green throughout the session, ending near record highs.

The Dow jumped 196.67 points or 0.55 percent to finish at 35,950.56, while the NASDAQ climbed 131.48 points or 0.85 percent to close at 15,653.37 and the S&P 500 rose 29.23 points or 0.62 percent to end at 4,725.79. For the holiday-shortened week, the NASDAQ spiked 3.2 percent, the S&P improved 2.3 percent and the Dow gained 1.7 percent.

Easing concerns about the Omicron variant of the coronavirus contributed to the continued strength on Wall Street, as separate studies have indicated the new strain poses a lower risk of severe disease and hospitalization than the Delta variant.

Traders were also reacting to a slew of economic data, including a Labor Department report showing first-time claims for U.S. jobless benefits came in flat last week. Also, the Commerce Department said new orders for U.S. manufactured durable goods spiked much more than expected in November.

Meanwhile, the Commerce Department also noted a continued acceleration in the pace of core consumer price growth last month, and also that new home sales skyrocketed.

Crude oil futures extended gains to a third straight day amid hopes about outlook for energy demand as concerns about Omicron variant of the coronavirus faded. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for February ended higher by $1.03 or 1.4 percent at $73.79 a barrel.

The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.

https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/taiwan-bourse-may-crack-resistance-at-18000-points