The Taiwan stock market has climbed higher in consecutive trading days, gathering more than 120 points or 1.2 percent along the way. The Taiwan Stock Exchange now rests just shy of the 9,970-point plateau and it may add to its winnings on Monday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is upbeat thanks to a resolution in the U.S. government shutdown and a jump in crude oil prices. The European and U.S. markets were up and the Asian markets are tipped to open in similar fashion.
The TSE finished modestly higher on Friday following gains from the technology and cement stocks, while the financials came in mixed.
For the day, the index jumped 92.49 points or 0.94 percent to finish at 9,969.61 after trading between 9,918.21 and 9,980.08 on turnover of 111.7 billion Taiwan dollars.
Among the actives, Cathay Financial and Fubon Financial both eased 0.11 percent, while CTBC Financial collected 0.98 percent, Mega Financial shed 0.38 percent, First Financial added 0.25 percent, Formosa Plastic spiked 2.00 percent, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company jumped 1.57 percent, United Microelectronics Corporation perked 2.14 percent, Largan Precision rose 0.40 percent, Hon Hai Precision advanced 1.00 percent, AsusTek Computer gained 0.88 percent, Catcher Technology gathered 1.33 percent, MediaTek accelerated 1.43 percent, Asia Cement was up 0.56 percent and Taiwan Cement added 0.55 percent.
The lead from Wall Street is positive as stocks moved higher on Friday, ending near their best closing levels in a month.
The Dow added 184.00 points or 0.75 percent to finish at 24,737.20, while the NASDAQ jumped 91.40 points or 1.29 percent to 7,164.86 and the S&P 500 rose 22.43 points or 0.85 percent to 2,664.76. For the week, the Dow and NASDAQ both added 0.1 percent and the S&P eased 0.2 percent.
The initial strength on Wall Street came after U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said the U.S. and China are making progress in trade talks, and that he is looking forward to a meeting with Chinese Vice Premier Liu He this week.
Stocks extended their gains when Donald Trump announced an agreement to end the record-setting government shutdown. The bill does not include money for Trump's controversial border wall, which was the issue that led to the longest government shutdown in U.S. history.
Crude oil prices edged higher on Friday, with traders weighing reports about likely U.S. sanctions on Venezuela's crude exports against data showing an increase in U.S. crude stockpiles. Crude oil futures for March ended up $0.56 or 1.1 percent at $53.69 a barrel.
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Market Analysis
December 19, 2025 15:10 ET U.S. inflation data and interest rate decisions by major central banks were the highlights of this busy week for economics news flow. Employment data and survey results on the housing markets also gained attention in the U.S. In Europe, the European Central Bank and Bank of England announced their policy decisions and macroeconomic projections.