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Survey shows an improvement in public sentiment

Consumer sentiment improved slightly this month after last month's low, driven by the local bourse's strong performance, a report released by National Central University yesterday said.

The consumer confidence index climbed 0.71 points from last month to 66.23, the university's Research Center for Taiwan Economic Development said.

The university's monthly survey gauges public expectations concerning stock performance, household finances, durable goods, job opportunities, consumer price fluctuations and the economic outlook over the next six months.

Public confidence in stock investments showed the biggest improvement, jumping from 4.3 points to 82.7 points, the highest level since May last year. A total of 29.5 percent of survey respondents said they would invest in stocks, while 46.8 percent said they would stay away from the market in the near future.

The TAIEX soared to a fresh seven-year high at 8,939.19 on Monday. It advanced 0.55 percent to close at 8,892.83 yesterday.

The other five sub-indices all showed minor fluctuations under 0.1 percentage points, indicating that respondents held similar views to those recorded last month.

The survey polled 2,270 people between June 20 and June 22.

The Nielsen Co yesterday also released a global consumer confidence report, which showed Taiwan's confidence score at 75, a score that placed it fifth from the bottom among the 47 markets surveyed.

Indians continue to register as the most optimistic consumers in the world, with a confidence index of 135, the biannual report said.

Indians were followed by Norwegians and Danes in terms of optimism, while South Koreans were the most pessimistic consumers, with a score of 50.
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