The Taiwan stock market has finished higher now in two straight sessions, surging more than 200 points or 2.7 percent along the way. The Taiwan Stock Exchange finished just shy of the 6,990-point plateau, and now analysts are forecasting a modest withdrawal when the market kicks off trade on Wednesday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is mixed with a touch of softness following the downgrade of several financial institutions around the world, while profit-taking also may figure into the mix following mostly higher trade so far this week. Gas and oil stocks may continue to provide support, with financials and technology stocks likely to contract. The European and U.S. markets finished mixed, and the Asian bourses are expected to open in similar fashion.
The TSE finished sharply higher on Tuesday following gains from the cement, technology, finance, textile, construction, chemical and paper sectors.
For the day, the index jumped 89.87 points or 1.3 percent to finish at 6,988.65 after trading between 6,934.87 and 6,998.06 on turnover of 76.34 billion Taiwan dollars.
Among the gainers, TPK surged by the 7 percent daily maximum, while Largan Precision jumped 4.45 percent and HTC climbed 4.77 percent.
The lead from Wall Street offers little guidance as stocks turned in a lackluster performance on Tuesday after failing to sustain an early upward move. While upbeat U.S. consumer confidence data generated some positive sentiment, traders remained concerned about the European debt crisis.
The early strength was partly due to a report from the Conference Board showing a substantial improvement in U.S. consumer confidence in November as the index surged up to 56.0 in November from an upwardly revised 40.9 in October. Economists had expected the index to climb to 45.0 from the 39.8 originally reported for the previous month. The jump by the index reflected the biggest monthly increase since April of 2003.
News of relatively strong demand for an Italian bond auction also generated some buying interest, although lingering concerns about the European debt crisis helped to limit the upside. European finance ministers are meeting in Brussels to discuss shoring up the European Financial Stability Facility bailout fund and releasing the next tranche of financing for Greece.
In corporate news, shares of American Airlines parent AMR Corp. (AMR) plunged by more than 80 percent after the company announced that it has filed for voluntary Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. AMR said the filing will enable it to achieve a cost and debt structure that is competitive.
The major averages eventually ended the session mixed, with the tech-heavy NASDAQ posting a modest loss. The NASDAQ fell 11.83 points or 0.5 percent to 2,515.51, while the Dow rose 32.62 points or 0.3 percent to 11,555.63 and the S&P 500 edged up 2.64 points or 0.2 percent to 1,195.19.
For comments and feedback: editorial@rttnews.com