The TAIEX is undergoing a corrective period that is expected to persist for at least two more weeks, Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) Chairwoman Jennifer Wang (王儷玲) said yesterday.
Wang’s comments came after the TAIEX shed 1 percent to close at 8,294.12 points, falling below the 26-week moving average, while foreign institutional investors sold a net NT$12.63 billion (US$39.22 million) worth of Taiwanese stocks.
Regarding heavy net selling by foreign institutional investors during yesterday’s session, Wang said that there are no concerns over capital flight from the local bourse.
She said that as of the end of last month, net foreign capital inflow to Taiwan tallied US$202.1 billion, of which US$1.75 billion was recorded last month.
“We have not detected a marked shift in net foreign capital inflow, although foreign institutions have been adjusting their investment allocation,” Wang said.
Wang said that apart from lingering global macroeconomic factors, the correction in the local bourse partly reflects uncertainties about the presidential handover on May 20.
She said that a majority of companies have indicated a positive outlook over the nation’s economic growth momentum in the second half, with most expecting a recovery from a trough in the first half.
In related news, credit card spending reached NT$199.6 billion in March to reach the fourth-highest level since tracking began in 2005, the commission said.
As of the end of March, Cathay United Bank (國泰世華銀行) was in the lead among credit card issuers, with spending reaching NT$33.54 billion in the month, followed by CTBC Bank Co Ltd (中國信託銀行) at NT$28.52 billion and E.Sun Commercial Bank (玉山銀行) at NT$22.43 billion.
The commission attributed the marked sequential jump to the lower number of business days in February, adding that more people have been paying recurring bills with credit cards.
However, revolving balance in the period dropped by NT$2 billion sequentially to NT$104.7 billion, commission data showed.
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