FX.co ★ Taiwan Bourse May Get A Boost From Tech Shares

On Friday, the Taiwan stock market ended its four-day upward trend, during which it gained over 1,000 points or 4.3 percent. The Taiwan Stock Exchange now sits just below the 23,200 mark but is anticipated to rise again on Monday.

The global outlook for Asian markets is expected to be steady to positive, buoyed by optimism regarding interest rates. Although European and U.S. markets displayed mixed and subdued performances on Friday, Asian exchanges are likely to mirror this trend.

The TSE experienced a slight decline on Friday, mainly impacted by losses in plastics and technology stocks, while the financial sector had mixed results.

On the day, the TSE Index fell by 74.63 points or 0.32 percent, closing at 23,193.27, fluctuating between 23,137.62 and 23,361.12 throughout the session.

In terms of active stocks, Cathay Financial decreased by 0.72 percent, Mega Financial dropped 0.87 percent, CTBC Financial increased by 0.33 percent, E Sun Financial decreased by 0.54 percent, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company declined by 0.93 percent, United Microelectronics Corporation fell by 0.23 percent, Hon Hai Precision lost 0.50 percent, Largan Precision decreased by 0.80 percent, Catcher Technology slipped by 0.51 percent, MediaTek dropped 1.51 percent, Delta Electronics rose by 1.92 percent, Novatek Microelectronics increased by 0.21 percent, Formosa Plastics fell 0.86 percent, Nan Ya Plastics decreased 1.06 percent, Asia Cement gained 0.59 percent, while First Financial and Fubon Financial remained unchanged.

Wall Street provided a mixed lead, with major indices opening higher on Friday. However, the Dow was unable to maintain its gains, resulting in mixed market closures.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell by 123.18 points or 0.28 percent, ending at 44,642.52. In contrast, the NASDAQ surged by 159.07 points or 0.81 percent, reaching 19,859.77, and the S&P 500 decreased by 15.16 points or 0.25 percent, closing at 6,090.27.

The Dow continued to be hampered by a decline in UnitedHealth's shares following the tragic death of CEO Brian Thompson.

Meanwhile, the NASDAQ and S&P 500 received a boost from a positive reception to the Labor Department's report, which showed that U.S. employment rose more than expected in November.

However, the unemployment rate edged up to 4.2 percent in November from 4.1 percent in October, heightening expectations that the Federal Reserve will reduce interest rates by another 25 basis points later this month.

Oil prices declined on Friday, pressured by concerns of an oversupply in the market. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for January dropped by $1.10 or 1.61 percent, settling at $67.20 per barrel. Over the week, WTI crude futures fell nearly 1 percent.

In Taiwan, November figures for imports, exports, and trade balance are due later today. October data showed imports increased by 6.5 percent year-over-year, exports rose by 8.4 percent, resulting in a trade surplus of $6.87 billion.