Stock Market Rises Ignite Market Cap Battle Again

Reignition Focused on Top Stocks in Bull Market
Intense Competition for 3rd Place Between Samba and LG Chem
Kia Motors Threatens 10th Place LG Household & Health Care
Large-Cap Stocks Expected to Continue Strong Performance

[Asia Economy Reporter Song Hwajeong] The competition for rankings among the top market capitalization stocks, which had been quiet for a while due to the stock market correction, has recently reignited along with the market's rise. Samsung Biologics, the leading bio stock, and LG Chem, the leading secondary battery stock, are competing for the 3rd place, while Kia Motors is aiming to enter the top 10. The market is expected to continue its strength centered on large-cap stocks for the time being, so the battle for positions among the top market cap stocks is also expected to intensify.

According to the Korea Exchange on the 16th, Naver, which was ranked 3rd in KOSPI market cap at the beginning of this month, dropped to 5th place, with Samsung Biologics taking its spot. In the first half of the year, Naver seemed to have secured the 3rd place in the competition among Naver, Samsung Biologics, and LG Chem. However, with the recent rise in Samsung Biologics' stock price, it overtook Naver to reclaim 3rd place. Still, Samsung Biologics has not firmly settled in 3rd place. On the 9th, it even lost 3rd place to LG Chem. Although it regained the 3rd spot afterward, the situation remains uncertain.

Samsung Biologics recorded a 52-week high in June but showed a sluggish trend afterward, recently starting to rebound. Samsung Biologics rose 11% from the beginning of this month through the 13th. During the same period, Naver fell 3.1%, while LG Chem rose 15.38%.

As of the closing price on the 13th, the market cap gaps among the three stocks were 319.3 billion KRW and 3.6096 trillion KRW, respectively. Especially, the gap between Samsung Biologics and LG Chem is not large, so their rankings are expected to fluctuate depending on market movements.

The 6th place also changed. Celltrion, which had lost the 6th place to Hyundai Motor due to the automotive sector's strength in the second half, regained its position this month. Celltrion rose 20.33% this month. Hyundai Motor also rose 7.9% during the same period, but its increase was significantly less than Celltrion's, causing it to lose the 6th place. The market cap gap between Celltrion and Hyundai Motor is about 1.2 trillion KRW, and since both stocks are currently on an upward trend, the competition for 6th place is expected to be fierce.

The battle for the 10th place is also attracting attention. Kia Motors has been rapidly rising, setting new highs day after day, threatening LG Household & Health Care, which holds the 10th spot. On the 13th, Kia Motors even reached 10th place during intraday trading. The gap between the two companies is 616.8 billion KRW. Kia Motors rose 17.23% this month, while LG Household & Health Care increased by 5.07% during the same period.

Due to the market's strength, the market caps of the top stocks have generally increased. The total market cap of the top 10 KOSPI stocks grew from 682.5748 trillion KRW at the end of last month to 757.0103 trillion KRW as of the closing price on the 13th. Samsung Electronics' market cap increased by nearly 40 trillion KRW, accounting for more than half of the increase among the top 10. SK Hynix's market cap rose by about 7 trillion KRW.

With the market expected to continue its strength centered on large-cap stocks for the time being, the competition for positions among the top market cap stocks is expected to intensify. Roh Donggil, a researcher at NH Investment & Securities, analyzed, "The inflow of foreign investor funds driven by relief over the US presidential election results led the domestic stock market's rise, and along with this, net purchases by financial investors also contributed to the upward trend. Financial investors are expected to continue net purchases targeting dividend income until the end of the year, so the buying trend by foreign and financial investors will positively affect the supply and demand of large-cap stocks centered on the KOSPI 200."

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