FX.co ★ Rebound Predicted For Taiwan Stock Market

Taiwan's stock market has ended on a lower note twice in the last three trading sessions post a three-day surge, during which it amassed over 270 points or 1.4%. The Taiwan Stock Exchange now stands just over the 18,935-point mark, but is expected to recover on Monday.

The global outlook for Asian markets seems promising, primarily due to the anticipated backing from technology and oil sectors. The European and U.S. markets have shown an upward trend, raising expectations of a similar opening for Asian markets.

On Friday, the Taiwan Stock Exchange (TSE) took a minor hit, impacted by losses from the financial sector, tech companies, and plastics. The index dipped by 30.84 points or 0.16% to end at 18,935.93, trading between 18,923.46 and 19,041.92.

Several active companies registered declines: Cathay Financial by 0.89%, Mega Financial by 0.39%, CTBC Financial by 1.19%, First Financial by 0.18%, Fubon Financial by 0.88%, and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company by 0.14%. United Microelectronics Corp withdrew 1.13%, Hon Hai Precision dropped 0.97%, Largan Precision shed 0.77%, while MediaTek plummeted 3.07%. Other firms registering losses included Delta Electronics (0.34%), Novatek Microelectronics (0.33%), Formosa Plastics (0.14%), Nan Ya Plastics (2.01%), Asia Cement (0.74%), and China Steel (0.61%). Catcher Technology and Taiwan Cement saw no change.

On the Wall Street front, a positive lead came as all major averages started flat on Friday, but gained ground through the day, ushering both NASDAQ and S&P to record closing highs. The NASDAQ surged 1.7% for the week, and the S&P 500 went up 1%, while the Dow decreased marginally by 0.1%.

The NASDAQ surge was driven chiefly by significant gains in computer hardware stocks, in the wake of positive results from Dell, which led to a record closing high for the NYSE Arca Computer Hardware Index.

Surprisingly, U.S. manufacturing activity contracted in February according to the Institute for Supply Management, while the University of Michigan's revised data indicated an unexpected decline in February's consumer sentiment. This softer data led to treasury yields going down, sparking optimism about the Federal Reserve potentially reducing interest rates.

Oil prices peaked at a four-month high on the back of reports that oil demand surged to a four-year high in 2023 and is expected to maintain that level this year. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for April climbed $1.71 or 2.2% to $79.97 a barrel, marking its highest closing since November 6, 2023.