The win streak has hit six sessions now for the Taiwan stock market, which has advanced almost 350 points or 3.2 percent on its way to a fresh 28-year closing high. The Taiwan Stock Exchange sit just above the 11,150-point plateau and it may extend its winning streak on Monday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is cautiously optimistic, thanks to optimism that the U.S. government shutdown will end soon, although a fall in crude oil prices may weigh. The European and U.S. markets were up and the Asian bourses figure to follow suit.
The TSE finished modestly higher on Friday as gains from the financials and technology stocks were capped by weakness from the steel and plastic sectors.
For the day, the index jumped 79.28 points or 0.72 percent to finish at the daily high of 11,150.85 after moving as low as 11.095.85 on turnover of 133.51 billion Taiwan dollars.
Among the actives, Cathay Financial collected 0.18 percent, while Fubon Financial picked up 0.19 percent, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company spiked 2.82 percent, Hon Hai Precision soared 3.30 percent, AU Optronics jumped 1.15 percent, Nan Ya Technology dropped 1.71 percent, Largan Precision added 0.38 percent, United Microelectronics Corporation shed 0.70 percent, China Steel lost 0.20 percent, Taiwan Steel tumbled 1.11 percent and Formosa Plastics fell 0.99 percent.
The lead from Wall Street is upbeat as stocks moved higher on Friday, lifting the NASDAQ and the S&P 500 to new record closing highs.
The Dow rose 53.91 points or 0.21 percent to 26,071.72, while the NASDAQ advanced 40.33 points or 0.55 percent to 7,336.38 and the S&P 500 added 12.27 points or 0.44 percent to 2,810.30. For the week, the Dow and NASDAQ both surged 1 percent and the S&P 500 jumped 0.9 percent.
The strength came as optimism about the outlook for the economy and corporate earnings overshadowed concerns about a government shutdown as lawmakers failed to reach a last-minute agreement on a spending bill.
Traders seemed unfazed by a report from the University of Michigan showing an unexpected deterioration in consumer sentiment in January.
Crude oil prices continued to ease from recent four-year highs as February WTI oil was down 58 cents or 0.9 percent to settle at $63.37/bbl.
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