The Taiwan stock market has finished higher in two of three sessions since the end of the four-day losing streak in which it had lost more than 515 points or 6.3 percent. The Taiwan Stock Exchange finished just above the 8,390-point plateau, and now investors are anticipating very slight gains at the opening of trade on Monday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is mixed, with UN airstrikes in Libya capping any upside from gains among the properties, financials and technology shares. Oil and gold also are rising on concerns from the conflict, likely forcing investors to dump airline stocks on higher fuel costs. The European and U.S. markets finished higher on Friday, and now the Asian bourses are tipped to track lightly into positive territory.
The TSE finished sharply higher on Friday on gains from the construction, cement, textile, technology, paper and plastics sectors.
For the day, the index jumped 112.06 points or 1.35 percent to finish at 8,394.75 after trading between 8,313.02 and 8,399.17. There were 3,413 gainers and 1,124 decliners, with 376 stocks finishing unchanged.
The lead from Wall Street is cautiously optimistic as stocks failed to sustain an initial rally and gave back some ground over the course of the trading day on Friday but still closed mostly higher. While certain positive developments overseas generated buying interest, lingering concerns helped to limit the upside.
The initial strength on Wall Street came on the heels of news that the G7 nations agreed to undertake a concerted intervention in the foreign exchange markets in an effort to support the Japanese economy following the recent earthquake and tsunami. The highly unusual move came as the Japanese yen's dramatic advance against the U.S. dollar threatened the stability of the island nation's economy. The yen reached a record high versus the dollar on Thursday but retreated sharply on the G7 news.
Additional buying interest was generated by news that the Libyan government has declared a ceasefire and was prepared to enter negotiations with the rebels - although that has since changed.
Nonetheless, lingering concerns about the ongoing crisis at Japan's Fukushima nuclear plant limited the upside, and stocks drifted down off their highs for the session over the course of the trading day.
News that the Federal Reserve completed its stress tests of the 19 largest U.S. bank holding companies helped to support the markets, however, with the central bank clearing the way for several firms to increase their stock dividends. JP Morgan (JPM), Wells Fargo (WFC), and U.S. Bancorp (USB) wasted little time and announced dividend increases not long after the Fed announcement.
Among individual stocks, shares of Celera Corp. (CRA) surged up by 34 percent after the genetic diagnostics company agreed to be acquired by Quest Diagnostics (DGX) for $344 million. General Mills (GIS) also closed higher on the day amid news that it will acquire a controlling role and a 50 percent interest in French yogurt company Yoplait. Meanwhile, athletic apparel and equipment company Nike (NKE) came under pressure after reporting weaker than expected third quarter earnings.
Although the major averages ended the session well off their best levels of the day, they remained in positive territory. The Dow rose 83.93 points or 0.7 percent to 11,858.52, the NASDAQ edged up 7.62 points or 0.3 percent to 2,643.67 and the S&P 500 climbed 5.49 points or 0.4 percent to 1,279.21. Despite closing higher in the past two sessions, the major averages still closed lower for the week. The NASDAQ posted a weekly loss of 2.6 percent, while the Dow and the S&P 500 fell by 1.5 percent and 1.9 percent, respectively.
In economic news, Taiwan is on Monday scheduled to release February figures for export orders. Forecasts call for an increase of 12.9 percent on year following the 13.47 percent annual expansion in January.
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June 05, 2026 16:18 ET A busy week for economic news flow saw a slew of reports being released that reflected the trends in the U.S. labor market. In Europe, economic growth and inflation data gained attention as the European Central Bank and Bank of England head for policy session later in the month. In Asia, the monetary policy session of the Indian central bank was in focus as the country, a major oil importer, reels under the pressures of a weaker rupee and rising inflation.