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.
Taiwan’s technology protection rules prohibits Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) from producing 2-nanometer chips abroad, so the company must keep its most cutting-edge technology at home, Minister of Economic Affairs J.W. Kuo (郭智輝) said yesterday. Kuo made the remarks in response to concerns that TSMC might be forced to produce advanced 2-nanometer chips at its fabs in Arizona ahead of schedule after former US president Donald Trump was re-elected as the next US president on Tuesday. “Since Taiwan has related regulations to protect its own technologies, TSMC cannot produce 2-nanometer chips overseas currently,” Kuo said at a meeting of the legislature’s
Semiconductor shares in China surged yesterday after Reuters reported the US had ordered chipmaking giant Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) to halt shipments of advanced chips to Chinese customers, which investors believe could accelerate Beijing’s self-reliance efforts. TSMC yesterday started to suspend shipments of certain sophisticated chips to some Chinese clients after receiving a letter from the US Department of Commerce imposing export restrictions on those products, Reuters reported on Sunday, citing an unnamed source. The US imposed export restrictions on TSMC’s 7-nanometer or more advanced designs, Reuters reported. Investors figured that would encourage authorities to support China’s industry and bought shares
TECH WAR CONTINUES: The suspension of TSMC AI chips and GPUs would be a heavy blow to China’s chip designers and would affect its competitive edge Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s biggest contract chipmaker, is reportedly to halt supply of artificial intelligence (AI) chips and graphics processing units (GPUs) made on 7-nanometer or more advanced process technologies from next week in order to comply with US Department of Commerce rules. TSMC has sent e-mails to its Chinese AI customers, informing them about the suspension starting on Monday, Chinese online news outlet Ijiwei.com (愛集微) reported yesterday. The US Department of Commerce has not formally unveiled further semiconductor measures against China yet. “TSMC does not comment on market rumors. TSMC is a law-abiding company and we are
FLEXIBLE: Taiwan can develop its own ground station equipment, and has highly competitive manufacturers and suppliers with diversified production, the MOEA said The Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) yesterday disputed reports that suppliers to US-based Space Exploration Technologies Corp (SpaceX) had been asked to move production out of Taiwan. Reuters had reported on Tuesday last week that Elon Musk-owned SpaceX had asked their manufacturers to produce outside of Taiwan given geopolitical risks and that at least one Taiwanese supplier had been pushed to relocate production to Vietnam. SpaceX’s requests place a renewed focus on the contentious relationship Musk has had with Taiwan, especially after he said last year that Taiwan is an “integral part” of China, sparking sharp criticism from Taiwanese authorities. The ministry said