The number of retail investors in the local stock market increased in the second quarter of this year compared with the previous quarter, as Taiwanese stocks rebounded in a roller-coaster quarter.
Amid US President Donald Trump’s announcement of new tariffs in April and the New Taiwan dollar’s sharp appreciation against the US dollar the following month, the TAIEX dropped to as low as 17,306 points, before quickly rebounding to more than 20,000 points in a couple of sessions.
Overall, the TAIEX surged 1,560.12 points, or 7.53 percent, in the April-to-June quarter after the activation of the NT$500 billion (US$17.06 billion) National Stabilization Fund (國安基金) and on the back of several listed firms’ strong corporate earnings, Taiwan Stock Exchange (TWSE) data showed.
Photo: Ritchie B. Tongo, EPA-EFE
On Monday, the Ministry of Finance said in a statement that the fund invested more than NT$7.7 billion to support local shares between April 9 and June 30.
The greater stock market volatility did not dampen investor sentiment in the second quarter, as the latest data released on Monday by the TWSE showed that the number of retail investors with quarterly trading of less than NT$100 million increased by 26,795 from the previous quarter to 5.26 million, the second-highest on record.
The highest number of small retail investors, 5.52 million, was recorded in the third quarter of last year, TWSE data showed.
In addition, the number of retail investors with quarterly turnover of NT$100 million to NT$500 million increased 1,166 to 23,214, while those with minimum quarterly trading of NT$500 million also added 41 to 2,663 in the second quarter, both ending three consecutive quarters of decline, the exchange said in a statement.
However, the number of “small players,” “mid-sized players” and “big players” fell from the same period last year when the market was on a bull run, down 31,518, 13,070 and 1,502 people respectively, TWSE data showed.
In the second quarter, retail investors accounted for 48.94 percent of the market’s overall turnover of NT$20.65 trillion, down from 50.8 percent in the first quarter, while foreign institutional investors made up 37.29 percent, up from 36.21 percent.
Local institutional investors represented the remaining 13.77 percent, also up from 12.99 percent the previous quarter, the exchange said.
The TAIEX yesterday closed 0.98 percent higher at 22,835.94. The index was still down 0.86 percent this year, exchange data showed.
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