FX.co ★ Taiwan Stock Market May Run Out Of Steam On Thursday

The Taiwan stock market has been on a steady climb for five consecutive sessions, experiencing a surge of over 700 points, which amounts to a 4 percent increase. The Taiwan Stock Exchange currently stands just above 17,875 points, but it could experience some stability fluctuations on Thursday.

Predictions for the Asian markets have been mixed, and will be largely determined by earnings news. The European markets had an upward trend while the U.S markets were varied, hence it's likely the Asian market will have a split response.

On Wednesday, the Taiwan Stock Exchange (TSE) saw a slight increase. This was due to contrasting performances from financial shares, technology stocks, and cement companies. The index increased marginally by 1.24 points or 0.01 percent to settle at 17,875.83, after it had traded between 17,856.34 and 17,944.98.

Looking at individual stocks, CTBC Financial declined by 0.36 percent, while First Financial increased by 0.38 percent, and Fubon Financial earned 0.78 percent. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company slid 0.16 percent, but United Microelectronics Corporation and Largan Precision both rose 0.80 percent. Hon Hai Precision went down 0.50 percent, whereas Catcher Technology climbed 1.03 percent. MediaTek surged by 2.74 percent while Delta Electronics retracted 1.53 percent, but Novatek Microelectronics added 0.57 percent.

Reacting to the Wall Street situation, the major stock averages started positively on Wednesday and remained so for the most part, although the Dow ended on a downward note.

The Dow fell by 99.06 points, or 0.26 percent, to close at 37,806.39. Meanwhile, the NASDAQ increased by 55.97 points or 0.36 percent to close at 15,481.92, and the S&P 500 went up 3.95 points or 0.08 percent to set a new record high at 4,868.55.

Technology stocks saw an early boost with Netflix's shares soaring by 10.7 percent following their reported higher-than-expected fourth quarter revenues. However, buying interest faded over time due to the revival of interest rate concerns amid a rebound by treasury yields.

Oil prices also experienced an increase on Wednesday due to bigger-than-expected fall in U.S. crude inventories, while the weaker dollar further added to the rise in oil prices. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for March climbed $0.72, nearly 1 percent, to end at $75.09 a barrel.