Global economic uncertainty appears to have scared equity investors away from the local stock market, with about 78 percent of respondents in a survey released yesterday saying now is not a good time to add to share investments.
This was 2 percentage points higher than the same poll conducted last month, the monthly poll released by Cathay Financial Holding Co (國泰金控) showed yesterday.
The survey showed about 39 percent of respondents said they believed the TAIEX would see an upswing in the next six months, down from 42 percent in the similar poll conducted a month earlier.
Twenty-three percent said the benchmark index would decline over the next six months, 2 percentage points up month-on-month.
From a macro point of view, 62.5 percent of the 7,388 respondents said the nation’s economic fundamentals had rebounded significantly. A total of 51.7 percent also said they expected the economy to continue improving in the next six months.
From a personal perspective, however, the survey showed 80 percent of respondents remained concerned over stagnant income growth amid rising inflationary pressure. Respondents also expressed a neutral view toward discretionary spending, the survey showed.
The survey came as local shares ended 3.23 percent lower yesterday after a plunge in Wall Street overnight as well as declines in regional markets, such as Japan and South Korea, yesterday.
“The TAIEX plunged in opening trade as investors sold off shares on a Wall Street overnight tumble, the eurozone’s debt crisis and escalating tension between North and South Korea,” SinoPac Securities Corp (永豐金證券) said in a note to investors yesterday.
At its close, the TAIEX lost 236.36 points, or 3.23 percent, to 7,086.37, the lowest since Sept. 2, Taiwan Stock Exchange data showed. At one point, the benchmark fell to this year’s low of 7,032, on pressure from margin calls amid a deteriorating market sentiment.
Turnover, however, expanded to NT$102.19 billion (US$3.16 billion) from NT$65.41 billion the previous session, the stock exchange’s data showed.
Additional reporting by Kevin Chen
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