Taiwan Stock Market May Find Continued Support

(RTTNews) - Ahead of Wednesday's the Mid-Autumn Festival holiday, the Taiwan stock market had moved higher in four straight sessions - advancing more than 220 points or 2 percent along the way. The Taiwan Stock Exchange now rests just above the 10,470-point plateau and it may open higher again on Thursday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is flat with a hint of upside ahead of Friday's U.S. jobs report. The European markets were mixed but little changed and the U.S. bourses were barely higher and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.

The TSE finished barely higher on Tuesday following mixed performances from the technology, finance and steel companies.

For the day, the index added 4.19 points or 0.04 percent to finish at 10,469.35 after trading between 10,445.86 and 10,495.34 on turnover of 106.57 billion Taiwan dollars.

Among the actives, Cathay Financial collected 0.10 percent, while Mega Financial dipped 0.21 percent, Fubon Financial fell 0.53 percent, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company climbed 0.91 percent, Innolux tumbled 1.05 percent, Largan Precision jumped 1.65 percent, Catcher Technology plunged 2.40 percent, Hon Hai Precision skidded 0.93 percent, AU Optronics was unchanged, Formosa Plastics shed 0.65 percent, China Steel eased 0.20 percent and Taiwan Steel picked up 0.46 percent.

The lead from Wall Street offers the merest hint of positivity as stocks were lackluster on Wednesday but managed to end in the green - setting new record closing highs.

The Dow edged up 19.97 points or 0.09 percent to 22,661.64, while the NASDAQ crept up 2.91 points or 0.04 percent to 6,534.63 and the S&P gained 3.16 points or 0.12 percent to 2,537.74.

The higher close reflected recent upward momentum, which has helped to propel stocks higher over the past several sessions. Buying interest was subdued, however, with traders looking to the monthly jobs report on Friday.

In economic news, payroll processor ADP noted a bigger than expected increase in private sector employment in September - although it was the slowest rate of job growth since last October. Also, the Institute for Supply Management saw a big jump in service sector growth in September.

Crude oil futures dropped below $50 a barrel Wednesday as government data confirmed a large build in gasoline stockpiles. WTI light sweet inventories were down 44 cents or 0.9 percent to $49.98 a barrel.