Stock Market 'Fluctuations' Cause Top 10 Market Caps to 'Jump Around'

[Asia Economy Reporters Koh Hyung-kwang, Song Hwa-jung] It has been revealed that the positions of most of the top market capitalization stocks have changed within just over a month since the beginning of the year. As market volatility increased, even the prices of blue-chip stocks on the KOSPI fluctuated significantly. With Samsung Group stocks showing strength, their share of the top market capitalization stocks has also expanded considerably.

According to the Korea Exchange on the 5th, based on the closing prices of the previous day, the positions of most of the top 10 KOSPI companies by market capitalization have changed in the past month, except for Samsung Electronics, SK Hynix, and Samsung C&T.

Samsung Electronics (351.62 trillion KRW) and SK Hynix (70.69 trillion KRW) firmly held the 1st and 2nd positions in market capitalization, while Naver (29.75 trillion KRW), which was 3rd at the beginning of the year, gave way to Samsung Biologics (32.59 trillion KRW) and dropped one rank to 4th. Samsung Biologics, which fluctuated between 12th and 14th in market capitalization rankings until November last year, quickly climbed up to 3rd place based on improved earnings.

Hyundai Motor (26.49 trillion KRW), Hyundai Mobis (21.87 trillion KRW), and Celltrion (21.50 trillion KRW) each slipped one rank compared to the beginning of the year, settling at 6th to 8th place respectively. Pushing these stocks down, LG Chem (26.79 trillion KRW) jumped three ranks from 8th to 5th. Its market capitalization increased by 4.62 trillion KRW in a month due to expectations around secondary batteries.

Another beneficiary in the secondary battery sector, Samsung SDI's market capitalization rose from 15.95 trillion KRW at the start of the year to 21.18 trillion KRW as of the previous day, an increase of 5.23 trillion KRW (32.7%) in one month. Its market capitalization ranking also soared nine ranks from 18th to 9th. On the other hand, POSCO (18.66 trillion KRW), which was 9th, fell to 12th due to earnings deterioration close to an earnings shock.

The large reshuffling of market capitalization rankings is interpreted as a result of increased volatility in the domestic stock market since the beginning of the year. The domestic stock market has continued to rise daily this year due to expectations of a US-China Phase One trade agreement and semiconductor market recovery. In particular, on the 22nd of last month, the KOSPI index surpassed the 2260 level, marking its highest point in 15 months. However, as the novel coronavirus infection (Wuhan pneumonia) began to spread, the KOSPI index plunged more than 3% in a single day, and volatility expanded day by day.

Especially since the gap between the 5th and 6th places and between the 7th to 10th places is not large, the competition for rankings appears to have intensified. LG Chem, ranked 5th, has a market capitalization of 26.79 trillion KRW, and Hyundai Motor, ranked 6th, has 26.49 trillion KRW, with a gap of less than 300 billion KRW. Also, Hyundai Mobis (21.87 trillion KRW), Celltrion (21.50 trillion KRW), Samsung SDI (21.18 trillion KRW), and Samsung C&T (21.06 trillion KRW) all have market capitalizations in the 21 trillion KRW range, with a gap of just about 800 billion KRW. This means rankings could change at any time.

Seo Sang-young, a researcher at Kiwoom Securities, said, "Since the beginning of the year, as uncertainty in the domestic stock market has increased, even the top KOSPI stocks that rarely change have been fluctuating," adding, "The competition for the top market capitalization rankings is expected to continue for the time being."

Recently, as Samsung Group stocks have shown strength, their share of the top market capitalization stocks has also expanded. With Samsung C&T and Samsung SDI entering the top 10 by market capitalization, Samsung Group stocks now account for nearly 70% of the top 10 market capitalization stocks. Based on the closing prices of the previous day, the Samsung Group stocks in the top 10 by market capitalization are Samsung Electronics, Samsung Biologics, Samsung SDI, and Samsung C&T, with a combined market capitalization of 426.44 trillion KRW. This corresponds to 68.39% of the total market capitalization of the top 10, a significant increase from around 62% at the end of last year.

At the end of last year, the Samsung Group stocks in the top 10 by market capitalization were only Samsung Electronics and Samsung Biologics, but recently Samsung SDI and Samsung C&T have also entered the top 10, increasing the number of stocks to four. Accordingly, the market capitalization of Samsung Group stocks within the top 10 increased from 361 trillion KRW at the end of last year to 426 trillion KRW this year, an increase of about 65 trillion KRW.

Samsung Electronics, Samsung Biologics, and Samsung SDI led the market capitalization increase by hitting new highs this year. Recently, while Samsung Electronics paused, Samsung SDI showed noticeable strength. Samsung SDI, which was ranked 19th at the end of last year, entered the top 10 this month and rose to 9th place on the 4th by surpassing Samsung C&T. Samsung SDI also had the largest increase in market capitalization, rising 20.34% at the end of last year. Samsung Biologics followed with a 10.74% increase, and Samsung Electronics increased by 2.51%.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.