Taiwanese were more confident in the economy and stock investments this month, due to liquidity-driven rallies on the stock exchange that amplified the wealth effect, a survey by Cathay Financial Holding Co (國泰金控) showed yesterday.
Of the respondents, 35.7 percent expected the economy to improve in the next six months, while 32.1 percent said it would worsen and 27.4 percent said the situation would remain the same, the Taipei-based conglomerate found.
Forty-point-five percent of respondents expected the TAIEX to climb, while 24.3 percent predicted it would drop.
Photo: Lam Yik Fei, Bloomberg
The improvement in sentiment came after the local bourse staged noticeable rebounds last month and this month, as global funds are regaining interest in risky assets at home and abroad, Cathay Financial said.
The fund movements have much to do with market expectations that the US Federal Reserve is done with its monetary tightening cycle to tame inflation and would lower interest rates next year to avoid a recession, it said.
That helped explain why 30.6 percent of respondents said they planned to channel their cash into stock holdings, Cathay Financial said, adding that 16.7 percent said they intended to cut their positions, while the majority, 52.7 percent, planned to maintain their positions.
Regarding property transactions, 34.5 percent of respondents said that now is a good time to sell real estate, while 44.9 percent said doing so would be unwise.
Of the respondents, 18.1 percent said the time is right to buy properties, while 64.8 percent said they preferred to wait and see, it said.
The findings suggest there might be an increase in selling pressure ahead, Cathay Financial said.
With the Lunar New Year holiday drawing closer, 59.3 percent of the respondents expected to receive year-end bonuses equivalent to one to three months salary, with 8.3 percent saying they would likely receive more than three times their monthly salary.
Their bonus expectations ran counter to the fact that most Taiwanese firms are taking a hit from this year’s global slowdown, Cathay Financial said.
Of the respondents, 21.4 percent said that job hunting would become easier in the following six months, while 32 percent said it would grow more difficult.
The survey polled 13,379 people online from Dec. 1 to 7.
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