Taiwan Stock Market Draws Solid Lead For Wednesday's Trade

The Taiwan stock market on Tuesday snapped the four-day winning streak in which it had surged almost 770 points or 5.3 percent. The Taiwan Stock Exchange now rests just beneath the 14,700-point plateau although it's likely to move higher again on Wednesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is upbeat on bargain hunting and optimism ahead of earnings season. The European and U.S. markets were sharply higher and the Asian bourses are tipped to open in similar fashion.

The TSE finished slightly lower on Tuesday as losses from the financials and technology stocks were mitigated by support from the cement and plastics companies.

For the day, the index shed 25.56 points or 0.17 percent to finish at 14,694.08 after trading between 14,598.99 and 14,720.13.

Among the actives, Cathay Financial lost 0.55 percent, while CTBC Financial slid 0.45 percent, Fubon Financial retreated 1.68 percent, E Sun Financial slumped 0.54 percent, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company dropped 0.91 percent, United Microelectronics Corporation fell 0.25 percent, Hon Hai Precision sank 0.95 percent, Largan Precision shed 0.50 percent, Catcher Technology tumbled 1.76 percent, MediaTek rose 0.15 percent, Delta Electronics added 0.41 percent, Formosa Plastics advanced 0.68 percent, Nan Ya Plastics climbed 1.27 percent, Asia Cement gained 0.34 percent, Taiwan Cement rallied 2.33 percent and Mega Financial and First Financial were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is broadly positive as the major averages opened higher on Tuesday and only accelerated as the day progressed.

The Dow surged 754.44 points or 2.43 percent to finish at 31,827.05, while the NASDAQ spiked 353.10 points or 3.11 percent to close at 11,713.15 and the S&P 500 jumped 105.84 points or 2.76 percent to end at 3,936.69.

The rebound on Wall Street came as optimism about upcoming earnings news fueled a heavy wave of buying.

In earnings news, toymaker Hasbro (HAS) and oil services giant Halliburton (HAL) beat the street, while IBM Corp. (IBM) and Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) provided disappointing guidance.

In economic news, the Commerce Department unexpectedly reported a continued decline in housing starts in June.

Crude oil futures ended sharply higher Tuesday amid signs of tighter supplies in the global oil market, while the dollar's continued weakness also contributed to the sharp rise in oil prices. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for August ended higher by $1.62 or 1.6 percent at $104.22 a barrel.

Closer to home, Taiwan will provide June data for export orders later today; in May, orders were up 6.0 percent on year.

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