Business

Business sentiment in the local manufacturing sector which has been adversely impacted by the Trump administration's tariff policies weakened in March, according to the Taiwan Institute of Economic Research (TIER).

S&P Global has affirmed its "AA+" long-term and "A-1+" short-term credit ratings for Taiwan, saying geopolitical unease is not expected to affect the local manufacturing sector's development over the long run.

Starting May 7, documents declaring the origin of products made in Taiwan for export to the United States will be required, to prevent items produced elsewhere from using Taiwan as a transit channel to evade higher tariffs imposed by Washington, according to the International Trade Administration (ITA) of the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA).

The Taiwan Institute of Economic Research (TIER) on Friday lowered Taiwan's 2025 gross domestic product (GDP) growth forecast to 2.91 percent, due to rising uncertainty for the second half of the year.

The U.S. dollar fell against the Taiwan dollar Friday, shedding NT$0.003 to close at NT$32.526.

Taiwan shares ended up 393.92 points, or 2.02 percent, at 19,872.73 Friday on turnover of NT$287.5 billion (US$8.85 billion).

The U.S. dollar was traded at NT$32.513 at 10 a.m. Friday on the Taipei Foreign Exchange, down NT$0.016 from the previous close.

The Taiwan Stock Exchange's main index opened up 382.43 points at 19,861.24 Friday on turnover of NT$8.58 billion (US$264.03 million).

Taiwan stocks rose at the opening on Thursday but ended down 160.33 points, or 0.82 percent, closing at 19,478.81 with the market in consolidation mode and sentiment remaining cautious about the impact of U.S. tariffs on Taiwan's semiconductor industry, an analyst said.

The U.S. dollar rose against the Taiwan dollar Thursday, gaining NT$0.037 to close at NT$32.529.