The Taiwan stock market on Thursday halted a two-day drop, in which it had sunk over 225 points or 1.5 percent. Now, the Taiwan Stock Exchange is teetering just below the 17,970-point mark and it's expected to make further gains on Friday.
Factors from global markets suggest a positive outlook for Asian markets, implying that the heavy selling that occurred earlier this week may have been excessive. European markets trended downwards, while U.S. markets rose, and it's anticipated that Asian markets will follow the U.S.'s lead.
On Thursday, the TSE ended slightly higher thanks to boost from finance shares as well plastics and cement companies, while tech stocks displayed a mixed performance. The index increased 78.55 points or 0.44 percent, closing at a daily high of 17,968.11 after dipping as low as 17,832.95.
Notable market movers included Cathay Financial, Mega Financial, CTBC Financial, and First Financial, which all showed gains. Tech companies exhibited a varied performance with United Microelectronics Corporation seeing a small increase and MediaTek taking a substantial plunge.
On Wall Street, major averages opened with modest increases on Thursday and steadily climbed throughout the day, ending near session peaks. The Dow surged 369.54 points or 0.97 percent to close at 38,519.84, accompanied by similar increases in the NASDAQ and S&P 500.
Factors that contributed to this rebound include the Federal Reserve's indication that an interest rate cut in March is unlikely. Economists suggest it's not a question of if the central bank will decrease rates, but when. In addition, a continual fall in treasury yields may have spurred buyer interest, with the yield on the 10-year note hitting its lowest point in over a month.
Despite recent setbacks such as a rise in U.S. jobless benefit claims last week and data suggesting continued contraction in U.S. manufacturing activity, the outlook remains positive. Oil futures, however, settled lower Thursday due to ongoing ceasefire negotiations in the Israel-Hamas conflict, although anticipation of increased energy demand helped limit the drop.
