Additional Support Anticipated For Taiwan Stock Market

(RTTNews) - The Taiwan stock market has tracked higher in three straight sessions, advancing more than 810 points or 2.6 percent along the way. The Taiwan Stock Exchange now sits just above the 32,060-point plateau and it may extend those gains on Tuesday. The global forecast for the Asian markets suggests mild upside ahead of the U.S. rate decision later this week. The European markets were mixed and little changed and the U.S. bourses were slightly higher and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.

The TSE finished modestly higher again on Monday following gains from the plastics and cement sectors, while the financials and technology stocks were mixed. For the day, the index gained 103.01 points or 0.32 percent to finish at 32,064.52 after trading between 31,989.86 and 32,196.75. Among the actives, Cathay Financial collected 0.65 percent, while Mega Financial fell 0.38 percent, CTBC Financial advanced 0.99 percent, Fubon Financial slipped 0.32 percent, E Sun Financial climbed 1.20 percent, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company dropped 0.85 percent, United Microelectronics Corporation surged 6.94 percent, Hon Hai Precision vaulted 1.13 percent, Largan Precision shed 0.41 percent, Catcher Technology jumped 1.73 percent, MediaTek skyrocketed 8.59 percent, Delta Electronics stumbled 2.38 percent, Novatek Microelectronics improved 0.76 percent, Formosa Plastics soared 9.91 percent, Nan Ya Plastics accelerated 5.97 percent and Asia Cement rallied 2.27 percent.

The lead from Wall Street is upbeat as the major averages opened higher on Monday and remained modestly in the green throughout the session. The Dow jumped 313.69 points or 0.64 percent to finish at 49,412.40, while the NASDAQ climbed 100.11 points or 0.43 percent to end at 23,601.36 and the S&P 500 added 34.62 points or 0.50 percent to close at 6,950.23.

The strength on Wall Street comes ahead of the Federal Reserve's monetary policy announcement on Wednesday. While the Fed is widely expected to leave interest rates unchanged, traders will pay close attention to the accompanying statement for clues about the outlook for rates.

Traders are also keeping an eye on the latest geopolitical developments, with President Donald Trump threatening to impose a 100 percent tariff on goods from Canada over a potential free trade deal with China.

The U.S. government is also facing the possibility of another shutdown, as several Democratic senators have threatened to oppose a spending bill if it includes appropriations for the Department of Homeland Security. This comes after federal immigration agents shot and killed another U.S. citizen in Minneapolis over the weekend.

Crude oil prices slid on Monday following the resumption of production in Kazakhstan, although geopolitical tensions in the Middle East limited the decline. West Texas Intermediate crude for March delivery was down by $0.42 or 0.69 percent at $60.65 per barrel.