Tech Shares May Boost Taiwan Stock Market

The Taiwan stock market has tracked higher in back-to-back sessions, advancing more than 710 points or 2.3 percent along the way. The Taiwan Stock Exchange now sits just above the 31,960-point plateau and it may extend its winning streak on Monday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is murky, with geopolitical concerns likely to limit any upside. The European and U.S. markets were mixed and little changed and the Asian markets figure to follow that lead.

The TSE finished modestly higher on Friday following gains from the technology companies and mixed performances from the financial shares and plastics stocks.

For the day, the index added 215.43 points or 0.68 percent to finish at 31,961.51 after trading between 31,693.15 and 32,042.44.

Among the actives, Cathay Financial expanded 1.32 percent, while Mega Financial eased 0.13 percent, CTBC Financial lost 0.59 percent, Fubon Financial collected 0.54 percent, E Sun Financial slumped 0.75 percent, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company gained 0.57 percent, United Microelectronics Corporation plunged 4.14 percent, Hon Hai Precision sank 0.89 percent, Largan Precision climbed 1.03 percent, Catcher Technology rose 0.25 percent, MediaTek skyrocketed 9.76 percent, Delta Electronics vaulted 1.20 percent, Novatek Microelectronics rallied 2.48 percent, Formosa Plastics jumped 1.83 percent, Nan Ya Plastics dropped 0.90 percent, Asia Cement shed 0.56 percent and First Financial was unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street offers little clarity as the major averages opened lower on Friday but quickly turned mixed and finished the session that way.

The Dow dropped 285.30 points or 0.58 percent to finish at 49,098.30, while the NASDAQ added 65.22 points or 0.28 percent to close at 23,501.24 and the S&P 500 perked 2.26 points or 0.03 percent to end at 6,915.61.

For the week, the Dow shed 0.5 percent, the S&P fell 0.4 percent and the NASDAQ eased 0.1 percent.

The mixed performance came as traders kept an eye on the latest geopolitical developments, with easing concerns about tensions over Greenland being replaced by renewed worries about a confrontation between the U.S. and Iran.

After President Donald Trump ruled out the use of force to acquire Greenland and backed off tariff threats against Europe, he has now apparently shifted his attention back to Iran and has an “armada” heading toward the Middle East.

Crude oil prices soared on Friday as fresh war threats in the Middle East raised supply disruption concerns. West Texas Intermediate crude for March delivery was up $1.75 or 2.95 percent at $61.11 per barrel.