Taiwan Shares Tipped To Open In The Green

(RTTNews) - The Taiwan stock market moved back to the upside again on Wednesday, one day after ending the five-day winning streak in which it had jumped almost 950 points or 3.5 percent. The Taiwan Stock Exchange now sits just above the 28,400-point plateau and it's expected to open higher again on Thursday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is upbeat following the FOMC's rate decision and optimism over future moves. The European markets were mixed and the U.S. bourses were up and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.

The TSE finished modestly higher on Wednesday following mixed performances from the financial shares, technology stocks and cement companies.

For the day, the index rallied 218.13 points or 0.77 percent to finish at 28,400.73 after trading between 28,190.76 and 28,417.09.

Among the actives, Cathay Financial skidded 1.01 percent, while Mega Financial dipped 0.12 percent, Fubon Financial slumped 1.14 percent, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company jumped 1.69 percent, United Microelectronics Corporation shed 0.50 percent, Hon Hai Precision lost 0.64 percent, Largan Precision improved 0.72 percent, Catcher Technology rose 0.26 percent, MediaTek spiked 2.82 percent, Delta Electronics fell 0.31 percent, Novatek Microelectronics advanced 0.79 percent, Formosa Plastics declined 1.24 percent, Nan Ya Plastics dropped 1.13 percent, Asia Cement climbed 1.18 percent and CTBC Financial, First Financial and E Sun Financial were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is positive as the major averages opened flat and hugged the line before taking off late in the day.

The Dow jumped 497.46 points or 1.05 percent to finish at 48,057.75, while the NASDAQ added 77.67 points or 0.33 percent to close at 23,654.16 and the S&P 500 gained 46.17 points or 0.67 percent to end at 6,886.68.

The late-day strength on Wall Street came after the Fed announced its widely expected decision to cut interest rates by another quarter point, matching the rate cuts seen in September and October.

While a majority of Fed officials voted to cut rates by another quarter point, three cast dissenting votes for the first time since September 2019. The central bank's latest summary of economic projections also showed significant divisions about the outlook for rates.

Despite the mixed views, traders seem optimistic about the outlook for rates, potentially reflecting hopes for a move dovish regime under President Donald Trump's new Fed Chair choice.

Crude oil prices edged higher Wednesday after the American Petroleum Institute said U.S. crude inventories decreased much more than expected. West Texas Intermediate crude for January delivery was up $0.20 or 0.34 percent at $58.45 per barrel.