(RTTNews) - The Taiwan stock market has finished higher in three straight sessions, jumping almost 500 points or 2.7 percent along the way. The Taiwan Stock Exchange now sits just above the 18,150-point plateau and it's expected to add to open higher again on Wednesday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is upbeat on earnings optimism and support from oil and technology stocks. The European and U.S. markets were firmly higher and the Asian markets are tipped to open in similar fashion.
The TSE finished sharply higher on Wednesday following gains from the financial shares, technology stocks and cement companies.
For the day, the index jumped 185.20 points or 1.03 percent to finish at 18,151.76 after trading between 18,039.23 and 18,168.60.
Among the actives, Mega Financial shed 0.39 percent, while CTBC Financial increased 0.70 percent, Fubon Financial collected 0.39 percent, First Financial jumped 1.34 percent, E Sun Financial perked 0.83 percent, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company advanced 0.80 percent, United Microelectronics Corporation climbed 1.08 percent, Hon Hai Precision improved 0.95 percent, Largan Precision added 0.48 percent, Catcher Technology gained 0.64 percent, MediaTek soared 3.20 percent, Delta Electronics rose 0.19 percent, Asia Cement strengthened 1.01 percent, Taiwan Cement perked 0.75 percent, Nan Ya Plastics was up 0.68 percent and Cathay Financial and Formosa Plastic were unchanged.
The lead from Wall Street is broadly positive as the major averages opened firmly higher and remained that way throughout the session.
The Dow spiked 305.28 points or 0.86 percent to finish at 35,768.06, while the NASDAQ surged 295.92 points or 2.08 percent to end at 14,490.37 and the S&P 500 gained 65.64 points or 1.45 percent to close at 4,587.18.
The rally on Wall Street came as stocks continued to recover from the sharp pullback in January, with the Dow reaching its best levels in almost a month. The major averages remain well off the record highs but have climbed well off the multi-month lows set in late January.
Upbeat earnings also contributed to the continued strength on Wall Street, led by such companies as Chipotle Mexican Grill (CMG), cannabis producer Canopy Growth (CGC) and solar energy company Enphase Energy (ENPH), while CVS Health (CVS) disappointed.
Crude oil prices moved higher Wednesday after data showed a drop in U.S. crude inventories last week. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for March ended higher by $0.30 or 0.3 percent at $89.66 a barrel.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
