TAIPEI (TVBS News) — Cathay Financial Holdings (國泰金控) revealed the results of its June national economic confidence survey on Friday (June 20), highlighting the impact of U.S. President Trump's tariff and tax reform policies on bond ETF investments. Half of the respondents identified these policies as influencing their investment decisions over the next year.
The survey showed that 49% of participants plan to maintain their current bond ETF positions, indicating a cautious approach toward market stability. As tensions from the U.S.-China trade war ease, international stock markets have shown a slight upward trend. This shift has increased optimism among Taiwanese investors, with the optimism index for Taiwan stocks rising to -5.5 and the risk appetite index to 1.5.
Respondents also raised their average expectation for Taiwan's economic growth rate this year to 2.61%, though 63% believe it will remain below 3%. Meanwhile, the average inflation expectation slightly decreased to 2.30%, yet 68% of those surveyed anticipate an inflation rate above 2%.
Cathay Financial Holdings surveyed from June 1-7, targeting members of Cathay Life Insurance's (國泰人壽) official website and clients of Cathay United Bank (國泰世華銀行) through email, collecting 12,718 valid responses. As investors navigate these economic dynamics, they continue to weigh U.S. and Taiwan economic data, interest rate adjustments by the Federal Reserve, and fluctuations in the New Taiwan dollar in their bond ETF investment decisions.