The Taiwan stock market bounced higher again on Thursday, one day after ending the six-day winning streak in which it had spiked more than 710 points or 4.6 percent. The Taiwan Stock Exchange now rests just beneath the 16,300-point plateau and it may add to its winnings on Friday.
The global forecast is murky, with support from technology stocks likely offset by concern over the ongoing U.S. debt ceiling situation. The European markets were down and the U.S. bourses were mixed and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.
The TSE finished modestly higher on Thursday following mixed performances from the financial shares and the technology stocks.
For the day, the index advanced 132.68 points or 0.82 percent to finish at 16,292.00 after trading between 16,163.95 and 16,323.77.
Among the actives, Cathay Financial declined 1.67 percent, while Mega Financial collected 0.84 percent, CTBC Financial and Fubon Financial both retreated 1.63 percent, First Financial sank 0.89 percent, E Sun Financial skidded 1.15 percent, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company soared 3.43 percent, United Microelectronics Corporation shed 0.51 percent, Hon Hai Precision lost 0.49 percent, Largan Precision added 0.45 percent, Catcher Technology rose 0.27 percent, MediaTek fell 0.42 percent, Delta Electronics advanced 0.98 percent, Novatek Microelectronics jumped 1.60 percent, Formosa Plastics dipped 0.75 percent, Nan Ya Plastics stumbled 1.61 percent, Asia Cement slid 0.79 percent, Taiwan Cement increased 0.53 percent and China Steel slumped 1.84 percent.
Closer to home, Taiwan will provide Q1 figures for gross domestic product later today, with forecasts suggesting a decline of 3.02 percent on year for the second straight quarter.
The lead from Wall Street is inconsistent as the major averages opened mixed on Thursday and finished the same way.
The Dow shed 35.27 points or 0.11 percent to finish at 32,764.65, while the NASDAQ surged 213.93 points or 1.71 percent to end at 12,698.09 and the S&P 500 gained 36/04 points or 0.88 percent to close at 4,151.28.
The rebound on Wall Street reflected strong earnings news from Nvidia (NVDA), which reported better than expected results and forecasting Q2 revenue well above estimates - resulting in a surge by the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index.
Traders also kept an eye on any developments in the U.S. debt ceiling negotiations amid lingering concerns about a potential default. Reflecting the default concerns, Fitch Ratings placed the United States "AAA" credit on "rating watch negative," signaling downside risks to U.S. creditworthiness.
In economic news, a revision from the Commerce Department showed economic growth in the U.S. slowed less than estimated in the first quarter of 2023. Also, the Labor Department showed a modest increase in first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits last week.
Crude oil prices fell sharply Thursday, snapping a three-day winning streak, after Russia's Deputy Prime Minister said Russia won't agree on any additional cut in crude production. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for July ended down $2.51 or 3.4 percent at $71.83 a barrel.
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