<div id="readability-page-1"><div>  <h2> <span>MONEY VIEWS: </span>                         Survey results suggested that many investors were reluctant to chase prices after the TAIEX’s strong rally this year, driven by TSMC                    </h2>  <p>The consumer confidence index edged up this month, ending two consecutive months of declines, as people shrugged off concerns about the Middle East war that broke out at the end of February, a report released yesterday by National Central University showed.</p><p>The index rose 0.17 points month-on-month to 62.47, but is down 5.74 points on an annual basis, the report said.</p><p>The report was based on a survey of 3,369 people aged 20 or older from across Taiwan, conducted from April 18 to Tuesday last week, the university said.</p><p>Six subindices gauge the public’s sentiment concerning the next six months: consumer prices, household finances, economic outlook, job opportunities, stock investments and purchases of durable goods.</p><p>This month, the subindex for job opportunities posted the largest increase, moving up 0.82 points from last month to 71, the report said.</p>   <p>The subindex for economic outlook recorded the second-largest gain, climbing 0.4 points to 79.67, followed by household finances, which rose 0.37 points to 76.39, it said.</p><p>The subindex on expectations for stock investments gained the least, rising 0.21 points to 23.09, even as the TAIEX continued to notch record highs.</p><p>Among those surveyed, 10.5 percent said they plan to invest in stocks within the next six months, compared with 10.4 percent last month, while 87.4 percent said they would stay on the sidelines, down from 87.5 percent, the report said.</p><p>The results suggest that many investors are reluctant to chase prices after the TAIEX’s strong rally so far this year, driven by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (台積電) amid an artificial intelligence (AI) boom, with some likely to take profits and wait for a pullback to enter the market, it said.</p><p>The TAIEX yesterday briefly climbed above 40,000 points for the first time, closing 1.76 percent higher at 39,616.63.</p><p>In contrast, the subindex for consumer price expectations in the next six months edged down 0.08 points to 32.32, reflecting a moderation in inflationary pressures, and the subindex tracking willingness to purchase durable goods also fell 0.68 points to 92.33.</p><p>In addition, a gauge for the timing for home purchases decreased 0.27 points to 89.23, the lowest since October last year, reflecting the effects of the central bank’s selective credit controls and lenders becoming conservative in extending new mortgages, according to a survey the university conducted separately with Taiwan Realty Co (台灣房屋).</p> </div></div>

PP台灣50

<p>本月消費者信心指數小幅上升，結束了連續兩個月的下降，儘管人們對 2 月底爆發的中東戰爭表示擔憂。根據國立中央大學發佈的報告，消費者信心指數環比上升 0.17 點至 62.47，但同比下降 5.74 點。該報告基於對 3369 名 20 歲及以上台灣民眾的調查，調查時間為 4 月 18 日至上週二。</p>

- 投資者在 TAIEX 強勁反彈後，普遍不願追漲。  
- 消費者信心指數小幅回升，結束兩個月下滑。  
- 對股票投資的期待仍然低迷，僅有 10.5% 計劃在六個月內投資。

Local consumer confidence edges up after declines