The consumer confidence index this month fell from a four-year high last month, ending five consecutive months of growth, as five of six subindices decreased, a report released yesterday by National Central University said.
The index dropped 0.78 points month-on-month to 77.06, but rose 8 points on an annual basis, the report said.
The report was based on a survey of 3,082 people aged 20 or older from across Taiwan between Oct. 18 and Monday last week, the university said.
Photo: CNA
Six subindices are used to gauge the public’s sentiment over the next six months: consumer prices, household finances, economic climate, job opportunities, stock investments and purchases of durable goods.
This month, the subindex on purchases of durable goods such as houses and vehicles fell the most, moving down 2.05 points from last month to 107.69, reflecting the cooling sentiment among homebuyers affected by the central bank’s credit control measures and local banks’ more restrictive lending terms, the university said.
Of the respondents, about 37.5 percent said they intended to buy a new house in the next six months, 28.7 percent said they would not, while 33.7 percent said they were neutral, it said.
That explained why the index for home purchases this month decreased 2.06 points month-on-month to 104.67, a survey the university conducted with Taiwan Realty Co (台灣房屋) said.
The subindex on consumer prices fell by the second-largest amount, retreating 1.72 points to 41.77, followed by the household finances subindex, which declined 1.35 points to 85.03, and the subindex on the job opportunities, which dropped 1.31 points to 78.18, the National Central University report said.
The subindex on the economic outlook fell the least, decreasing 1.19 points to 89.37, it said.
On the contrary, people’s expectations of stock investments over the next six months improved this month, as the subindex climbed 2.91 points from last month to 60.29 after Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) on Oct. 17 released a positive revenue outlook amid the artificial intelligence (AI) boom, it said.
The TSMC revenue outlook helped buoy investors’ confidence in local equities, it said.
Of those polled, 27.1 percent said they would invest in stocks in the next six months, compared with 25.5 percent last month, while 66.8 percent said they would stay away from the market in the near term, down from 68.1 percent last month, it said.
The TAIEX yesterday closed down 0.64 percent at 23,198.07 points. The index has risen 30.21 percent this year, Taiwan Stock Exchange data showed.
Whether the positive sentiment toward Taiwanese equities could last longer requires further observation, the university said, citing a large gap between firms’ huge investments in AI and their revenue results.
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