The Taiwan stock market has alternated between positive and negative finishes through the last five trading days since the end of the five-day losing streak in which it had surrendered nearly 600 points or 5.5 percent. The Taiwan Stock Exchange now rests just above the 9,980-point plateau and it's expected to see additional support on Wednesday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is upbeat on solid earnings news and support from crude oil prices. The European and U.S. markets were firmly higher and the Asian bourses figure to follow suit.
The TSE finished modestly higher on Tuesday following gains from the plastics, losses from the steel companies and mixed performances from the financial, technology and steel stocks.
For the day, the index advanced 79.98 points or 0.81 percent to finish at 9,981.10 after trading between 9,888.73 and 10,011.19 on turnover of 107.22 billion Taiwan dollars.
Among the actives, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company jumped 2.82 percent, while United Microelectronics Corporation skidded 1.12 percent, AsusTek Computer climbed 1.05 percent, AU Optronics dropped 1.28 percent, Hon Hai Precision eased 0.14 percent, Largan Precision plunged 4.31 percent, Formosa Plastics added 0.48 percent, Nan Ya Plastic advanced 0.65 percent, Cathay Financial collected 0.80 percent, CTBC Financial shed 0.24 percent, Fubon Financial fell 0.50 percent, Mega Financial gained 0.19 percent, Taiwan Cement slid 0.78 percent, Asia Cement declined 0.52 percent, China Steel jumped 1.66 percent and Taiwan Steel Union retreated 1.25 percent.
The lead from Wall Street is broadly positive as stocks moved sharply higher on Tuesday, offsetting the losses from the previous session.
The Dow jumped 547.87 points or 2.17 percent to 25,798.42, while the NASDAQ spiked 214.75 points or 2.89 percent to 7,645.49 and the S&P jumped 59.13 points or 2.15 percent to 2,809.92.
The rally on Wall Street followed upbeat earnings news from several big-name companies, including Johnson & Johnson (JNJ), UnitedHealth (UNH), Goldman Sachs (GS) and Morgan Stanley (MS).
Buying interest was also generated by positive economic data, including a report from the Federal Reserve showing industrial production increased in line with estimates in September. Also, the National Association of Home Builders noted an unexpected uptick in homebuilder confidence in October.
Crude oil futures were slightly higher on Tuesday on reports that Iranian crude exports dropped in the first two weeks of October. Crude oil futures for November ended up $0.14 or 0.2 percent at $71.92 a barrel.
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