International political and economic conditions have been volatile and difficult to predict this year, with the conflict in the Middle East repeatedly affecting market sentiment. Even so, continued demand for artificial intelligence has led financial institutions to remain broadly optimistic about Taiwan’s medium- to long-term economic outlook. Taiwan stocks have also shown relative resilience during market turbulence. After recent corrections, the market may still have room to rise as long as corporate earnings remain positive. Kevin Liu, head of investment strategy at Standard Chartered Bank Taiwan’s wealth management division, said global financial markets have faced high uncertainty since the United States launched military strikes against Iran on February 28. However, most stock markets rebounded after testing their annual moving averages during the correction. In Asia, markets including Japan, South Korea and Taiwan consolidated near their quarterly moving averages before moving higher, indicating that financial markets had not entered a state of excessive panic. Taiwan’s weighted stock index has fluctuated sharply since early March, affected by oil price volatility triggered by the Middle East conflict and concerns over high inflation. Sector rotation was rapid, and the index briefly retested its quarterly moving average amid negative international developments, but buying support remained evident. After U.S. President Donald Trump announced on April 8 that large-scale military action against Iran would be delayed by two weeks, concerns over escalating tensions in the Middle East eased and capital quickly flowed back into equities. Taiwan’s weighted index at one point surged 1,531.56 points in a single day, marking the second-largest closing point gain in its history. Liu said changes in the Middle East conflict would continue to disrupt market sentiment in the short term, but the impact on the global economy is not expected to expand further. As U.S. compani