The Taiwan stock market concluded a seven-day winning streak on Friday, during which it gained nearly 1,500 points or 6.3 percent. The Taiwan Stock Exchange (TSE) now hovers just below the 23,920-point mark, poised for potential upward movement on Monday.
The global forecast for Asian markets is promising, driven by anticipated bargain hunting in the technology sector. Both European and U.S. markets closed higher, likely setting a positive tone for Asian bourses.
On Friday, the TSE closed significantly lower, primarily due to substantial losses in technology stocks and a mixed performance from the financial sector. The index plummeted by 473.07 points, or 1.94 percent, to end at 23,916.93, after fluctuating between 23,774.22 and 24,045.73.
Detailed performance of active stocks included Cathay Financial rising by 0.31 percent, Mega Financial gaining 0.72 percent, and CTBC Financial decreasing by 0.12 percent. First Financial and E Sun Financial both increased by 0.17 percent, while Fubon Financial fell by 0.54 percent. Among technology firms, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company dropped 3.70 percent, United Microelectronics Corporation lost 3.11 percent, and Hon Hai Precision plunged 4.21 percent. Largan Precision declined by 4.22 percent, and MediaTek fell sharply by 4.23 percent. However, Catcher Technology climbed 1.35 percent, Delta Electronics retreated 2.76 percent, and Novatek Microelectronics decreased 2.07 percent. In the materials sector, Formosa Plastics increased by 1.58 percent, Nan Ya Plastics surged 2.87 percent, and Asia Cement rose 1.44 percent.
The outlook from Wall Street is positive, with major indexes opening higher and maintaining gains throughout the session. The Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced by 247.10 points, or 0.62 percent, to close at 40,000.90. The NASDAQ Composite increased by 115.04 points, or 0.63 percent, to 18,398.45, and the S&P 500 grew by 30.81 points, or 0.55 percent, to 5,615.35.
For the week, the Dow gained 1.6 percent, the S&P 500 rose by 0.9 percent, and the NASDAQ saw a modest increase of 0.3 percent.
The rebound on Wall Street was driven by traders seeking to acquire stocks at somewhat discounted levels following a steep drop on Thursday. This decline partially reflected a rotation out of leading tech stocks, such as Nvidia (NVDA). Traders also remained hopeful about the interest rate outlook despite the U.S. Labor Department reporting a slight uptick in producer prices for June.
Meanwhile, oil futures ended lower on Friday, influenced by data indicating a larger-than-expected rise in U.S. producer prices for June. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil futures for August settled down by $0.41, at $82.21 per barrel.
