Higher Open Called For Taiwan Stock Market

(RTTNews) - The Taiwan stock market on Wednesday ended the two-day slide in which it had stumbled more than 600 points or 3 percent. The Taiwan Stock Exchange now sits just beneath the 19,640-point plateau and it's expected to open to the upside again on Thursday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is broadly positive on easing concerns over the U.S. Federal Reserve's independence. The European and U.S. markets were firmly higher and the Asian markets are tipped to follow that lead.

The TSE finished sharply higher on Wednesday with gains across the board, especially among the technology and plastics sectors.

For the day, the index skyrocketed 845.71 points or 4.50 percent to finish at the daily high of 19,639.14 after trading as low as 19,163.61.

Among the actives, Mega Financial collected 0.40 percent, while First Financial improved 0.81 percent, Fubon Financial spiked 2.59 percent, E Sun Financial accelerated 2.21 percent, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company surged 6.99 percent, United Microelectronics Corporation strengthened 1.81 percent, Hon Hai Precision soared 5.30 percent, Largan Precision jumped 4.06 percent, Catcher Technology climbed 2.16 percent, MediaTek rallied 5.38 percent, Delta Electronics skyrocketed 6.29 percent, Novatek Microelectronics increased 2.20 percent, Formosa Plastics gained 2.89 percent, Nan Ya Plastics added 2.63 percent, Asia Cement rose 0.45 percent and Cathay Financial and CTBC Financial were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is upbeat as the major averages opened sharply higher on Wednesday; they came off the day's highs but still finished solidly in the green.

The Dow soared 419.59 points or 1.07 percent to finish at 39,606.57, while the NASDAQ rallied 407.63 points or 2.50 percent to close at 16,708.05 and the S&P 500 jumped 88.10 points or 1.67 percent to end at 5,375.86.

Stocks surged early after President Donald Trump appeared to soften his stance on Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell. Trump's attacks on Powell had led to anxiety on Wall Street about the Fed's independence.

The president also suggested he's willing to take a less confrontational approach to trade talks with China, predicting the current 145 percent tariff on Chinese imports will "come down substantially."

Buying interest waned over the course of the session, however, as traders continue to express concerns about recent volatility in the markets triggered largely by Trump's words.

Crude oil prices moved sharply lower on Wednesday after reports suggested that OPEC may accelerate oil output hikes in June for a second consecutive month. West Texas Intermediate crude for June delivery tumbled $1.52 or 2.4 percent to $62.15 a barrel.