Taiwan's opposition parties are splitting apart ahead of a Hsinchu County race, while the stock market pushes higher on a bullish Goldman Sachs call.

• The KMT-TPP cooperation deal in Hsinchu County has fallen apart, with the TPP barring its members from backing KMT candidate Hsu Hsin-ying.
• The TPP is threatening to expel anyone who campaigns for her, and some of its grassroots supporters are drifting to the DPP candidate instead — good news for the ruling party.
• Taiwan stocks opened higher on three supporting factors at once, and Goldman Sachs now sees the index reaching 54,000 points.
• The military budget is putting more money into arms production, and a Japan Innovation Party delegation is in Taipei to build closer ties.
• The US dollar strengthened against the Taiwan dollar in Taipei trading.

Outlook: The opposition split hands the DPP an opening in Hsinchu, while Taiwan's market looks set to stay strong as long as foreign banks keep raising their targets.