(RTTNews) - Taiwan's stock market finished higher in four consecutive sessions, accumulating almost 190 points or 1.1 percent in that span. The Taiwan Stock Exchange is now just below the 17,470 plateau and could increase its gains again on Thursday.
Global forecasts for Asian markets are optimistic due to optimism about the outlook for interest rates. European markets were mixed and flat and US stocks rose solidly and Asian markets are expected to follow the latter example.
The TSE closed slightly higher on Wednesday as gains in technology stocks were capped by weakness in financial stocks and plastics companies.
During the day, the index rose 18.30 points or 0.10 percent to end at 17,468.93 after trading between 17,438.69 and 17,507.92.
Among actives, Cathay Financial fell 0.11 percent, while Mega Financial fell 1.02 percent, CTBC Financial raised 1.27 percent, First Financial fell 0.36 percent, Fubon Financial fell 1.27 percent, 0.32 percent, E Sun Financial lost 0.20 percent, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company fell 0.17 percent. United Microelectronics Corporation added 0.60 percent, Largan Precision soared 6.53 percent, Catcher Technology rose 1.08 percent, MediaTek jumped 1.70 percent, Delta Electronics gained 0.66 percent , Novatek Microelectronics added 0.58 percent, Formosa Plastics fell 0.88 percent, Nan Ya Plastics plummeted 2.20 percent, Asia Cement gained 0.24 percent, Taiwan cement lost 0.29 percent, China Steel fell 1.18 percent and Hon Hai Precision was unchanged.
Wall Street's upside is generally positive, as the major averages held steady for most of the day but rose in the afternoon following the Federal Reserve's rate decision.
The Dow Jones rose 512.30 points or 1.40 percent to finish at a record 37,090.24, while the Nasdaq rose 200.57 points or 1.38 percent to close at 14,733.96 and the S&P 500 gained 63.39 points or 1.37 percent to close at 4,707.09.
The surge on Wall Street came after the Federal Reserve announced its widely expected decision to leave interest rates unchanged while also confirming its plans to move to cut rates next year.
The accompanying statement said the decision came as economic growth has slowed from its strong pace in the third quarter, while inflation has declined over the past year.
Projections provided by the Federal Reserve also suggest that the central bank will begin cutting rates next year, with the median forecast calling for rates to drop to 4.6 percent by the end of 2024.
Oil prices rose on Wednesday after data showed a larger-than-expected drop in U.S. crude inventories last week. West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures for January ended up $0.86 or 1.3 percent at $69.47 a barrel.
Closer to home, Taiwan's central bank will conclude its monetary policy meeting later today and then announce its interest rate decision; The bank is widely expected to keep its benchmark interest rate unchanged at 1.875 percent.
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