On Friday, the Taiwan stock market broke its three-day losing streak, during which it had shed nearly 350 points, equivalent to a 1.5% decline. The Taiwan Stock Exchange now sits just below the 23,350-point mark, with potential downward movement anticipated on Monday.
The outlook for Asian markets appears uncertain due to prevailing concerns regarding interest rate trajectories. European and U.S. markets experienced a mixed, largely stagnant session, and it is expected that Asian markets might exhibit similar behavior.
On Friday, the TSE saw modest gains, driven by advances in financial and technology sectors, whereas plastics companies displayed varied performances. The index increased by 155.93 points, or 0.67%, concluding at 23,348.45, after fluctuating between 23,222.77 and 23,388.53 throughout the trading day.
Among active stocks, Cathay Financial rose by 0.34%, Mega Financial edged up 0.13%, First Financial advanced 0.37%, Fubon Financial progressed by 0.99%, while E Sun Financial decreased by 0.72%. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company saw a gain of 0.47%, United Microelectronics experienced a slight drop of 0.20%, and Hon Hai Precision climbed by 2.13%. Additionally, Catcher Technology increased by 0.21%, MediaTek surged 3.54%, Delta Electronics jumped 2.16%, Novatek Microelectronics fell by 0.58%, Formosa Plastics strengthened by 1.41%, Nan Ya Plastics slipped 0.12%, Asia Cement declined by 0.21%, whereas Largan Precision and CTBC Financial remained unchanged.
Wall Street's lead continues to provide limited guidance, as major indices opened slightly higher on Friday but weakened throughout the day, resulting in a mixed close. The Dow dropped by 259.96 points, or 0.61%, to settle at 42,114.40. Conversely, the NASDAQ gained 103.12 points, or 0.56%, to end at 18,518.61, and the S&P 500 dipped by 1.74 points, or 0.03%, to finish at 5,808.12.
Throughout the week, the Dow experienced a 2.7% decline, while the S&P 500 decreased by 1.0%. In contrast, the NASDAQ witnessed a slight increase of 0.2%.
Stocks initially saw upward momentum due to sustained optimism regarding economic prospects, following a surprising improvement in consumer sentiment reported by the University of Michigan in October. However, buying enthusiasm diminished as the session progressed, coinciding with a rebound in treasury yields after Thursday's drop, amid persistent concerns that the Federal Reserve might reduce interest rates at a slower pace than previously anticipated.
Oil prices surged on Friday, influenced by geopolitical tensions and potential OPEC output adjustments. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil futures for December increased by $1.69, or 2.3%, closing at $71.78 per barrel, marking a weekly gain of 3.8% for WTI crude futures.
