Rally Likely To Continue For Taiwan Stock Market

(RTTNews) - The Taiwan stock market has moved higher now in three straight sessions, gathering almost 60 points or 0.7 percent along the way. The Taiwan Stock Exchange now rests just above the 8,315-point plateau, and the market is looking at another firm lead on Thursday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is broadly positive thanks to a sharp rebound in the price of crude oil - while window dressing ahead of the year's end also may play a role. The European and U.S. markets were firmly higher and the Asian markets figure to follow suit.

The TSE finished modestly higher on Wednesday as gains from the financial shares were capped by bargain hunting in the technology sector.

For the day, the index gained 22.96 points or 0.28 percent to finish at 8,315.70, after trading between 8,296.58 and 8,359.25 on turnover of 74.07 billion Taiwan dollars.

Among the actives, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company shed 0.4 percent, while Largan Precision tumbled 3.9 percent, Inventec surged 6.8 percent, Acer advanced 2.5 percent, Mega Financial Holding climbed 1.2 percent and CTBC Financial Holding jumped 1.5 percent.

The lead from Wall Street is firm as stocks moved higher on Wednesday, fueled by a gain in the energy sector. The gains extended a recent upward move, with the major averages closing higher for the third straight day.

The Dow jumped 185.34 points or 1.1 percent to 17,602.61, while the NASDAQ advanced 44.82 points or 0.9 percent to 5,045.93 and the S&P 500 surged 25.32 points or 1.2 percent to 2,064.29.

The strength followed a substantial increase by the price of crude oil, which climbed further off its recent lows after an unexpected sharp decline in inventories.

Traders were also reacting to a slew of U.S. economic data, including a report from the Commerce Department showing that new home sales increased for the second consecutive month in November. A separate report from the University of Michigan said that consumer sentiment improved by more than estimated in December.

Also, the Commerce Department noted that personal income and spending rose at the same rate in November, while a separate report showed that durable goods orders were virtually unchanged in November after surging 2.9 percent in October.