The Taiwan stock market has experienced gains in two out of the past three trading sessions, bouncing back from a previous four-day decline during which it lost nearly 850 points, equivalent to a 3.6% drop. Currently, the Taiwan Stock Exchange is hovering slightly below the 22,850-point level, and it may find additional support on Wednesday.
The global outlook for Asian markets remains mixed to positive, with expected support from the oil and technology sectors. While European markets saw declines, U.S. stock exchanges were predominantly higher, suggesting that Asian markets might follow this upward trend.
On Tuesday, the Taiwan Stock Exchange posted significant gains, buoyed by financial and technology stocks, although plastics companies lagged. The index surged by 302.26 points, or 1.34%, to close at 22,848.80, after oscillating between 22,578.75 and 22,906.69 throughout the trading day.
In terms of active stocks, Cathay Financial rose by 1.04%, Mega Financial advanced by 0.63%, First Financial improved by 1.08%, and Fubon Financial jumped by 1.78%. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company increased by 1.46%, United Microelectronics Corporation saw a modest gain of 0.22%, while Hon Hai Precision added 0.49%. Meanwhile, Largan Precision rallied 1.71%, Catcher Technology edged up by 0.74%, and MediaTek saw a significant increase of 3.63%. Delta Electronics gained 0.39%, although Novatek Microelectronics dropped by 1.22%, Formosa Plastics fell by 2.66%, Nan Ya Plastics decreased by 1.43%, and Asia Cement tumbled 2.76%. CTBC Financial remained unchanged.
In the U.S., Wall Street showed cautious optimism as major indices initially opened lower on Tuesday, but the NASDAQ and S&P 500 managed to close in positive territory. The Dow decreased by 120.66 points or 0.28% to finish at 43,268.94, while the NASDAQ climbed 195.66 points or 1.04% to close at 18,987.47, and the S&P 500 added 23.36 points or 0.40% to end at 5,916.98.
The early dip in U.S. markets was due to heightened concerns over escalating tensions between the U.S. and Russia, following President Joe Biden's authorization for Ukraine to use U.S.-made long-range missiles against Russian territory. In response, Russian President Vladimir Putin amended the country's nuclear doctrine.
Despite the initial selling pressure, investor sentiment improved, partly driven by a strong performance from Nvidia, which contributed to the NASDAQ's recovery. Nvidia was set to release its Q3 earnings results later in the day.
In the commodities market, oil prices rose on Tuesday amid the growing risk of supply disruptions, following Ukraine's use of long-range U.S.-made missiles to strike a facility in Russia's Bryansk region. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for December delivery rose by $0.23 or about 0.3% to settle at $69.39 a barrel.
Looking ahead, Taiwan is expected to release October export order figures and Q3 current account data. In September, export orders increased by 4.6% year-over-year, and the Q2 current account surplus was $21.82 billion.
