The Taiwan stock market has moved higher in two straight sessions, collecting more than 50 points or 0.4 percent along the way. The Taiwan Stock Exchange now rests just above the 12,915-point plateau and it's tipped to open in the green again on Friday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is cautiously optimistic on hopes for a stimulus bill in the United States. The European markets were mixed and flat and the U.S. markets were up and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.
The TSE finished modestly higher on Thursday following gains from the financial shares, technology stocks and cement companies.
For the day, the index gained 39.78 points or 0.31 percent to finish at the daily high of 12,917.03 after moving as low as 12,827.40.
Among the actives, Cathay Financial rose 0.26 percent, while Mega Financial collected 0.54 percent, CTBC Financial jumped 1.39 percent, Fubon Financial was up 0.24 percent, First Financial advanced 0.99 percent, E Sun Financial gathered 1.22 percent, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company added 0.44 percent, United Microelectronics Corporation surged 5.26 percent, Hon Hai Precision gained 0.50 percent, Largan Precision eased 0.16 percent, Catcher Technology rallied 2.54 percent, MediaTek shed 0.43 percent, Formosa Plastic climbed 1.01 percent, Asia Cement perked 1.10 percent and Taiwan Cement spiked 1.74 percent.
The lead from Wall Street is mildly positive as stocks fluctuated on Thursday, bouncing back and forth across the unchanged line before finishing slightly higher.
The Dow added 152.84 points or 0.54 percent to finish at 28,363.66, while the NASDAQ gained 21.31 points or 0.19 percent to end at 11,506.01 and the S&P 500 rose 17.93 points or 0.52 percent to close at 3,453.49.
The strength on Wall Street came as House Speaker Nancy Pelosi indicated Democrats and the White House continue to make progress toward an agreement on a new stimulus bill.
In economic news, the Labor Department said initial jobless claims came in below estimates last week. Also, the National Association of Realtors reported that existing home sales spiked by more than anticipated in September.
Crude oil prices moved higher Thursday, cutting into losses in the previous session after reports that Russian President Vladimir Putin said his country has not ruled out delaying OPEC+ production increases that are set for January. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for December ended up $0.63 or 1.4 percent at $40.64 a barrel.
Closer to home, Taiwan will provide September figures for industrial production and retail sales later today; in August, industrial production was up 4.7 percent on year and retail sales climbed 8.17 percent.
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