"When Will the Stocks I Bought Ever Rise?" 20s and 30s Beginner Investors... Deepening Sighs

"Thinking About Stocks All Day" Sighs of 20s-30s
Major Domestic Securities Firms Lower KOSPI Forecasts Through Year-End

Recently, as the KOSPI has been in a downward trend, young people in their 20s and 30s who have made reckless investments such as 'Yeongkkeul' are facing deep concerns. The photo shows Samsung Electronics, which plummeted 2.52% compared to the previous trading day on the 12th. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporter Han Seung-gon] "It was a good experience," "I definitely plan to recover the principal," "The mental stress is overwhelming."

Recently, as the KOSPI has been fluctuating and declining, the sighs of people in their 20s and 30s who are encountering stocks for the first time this year are growing deeper. Although the market has just escaped the downward trend, pessimistic forecasts remain, and individual investors (retail investors) who have suffered investment losses are having sleepless nights.

According to the Korea Exchange, on the 15th, the KOSPI index closed at 3,015.06, up 1.99% (55.6 points) from the previous week. The won-dollar exchange rate, which had risen to the 1,200 won level during trading on the 12th, fell for three consecutive days and recorded 1,182.4 won on the 15th. Foreign investors also returned to net buying after nine trading days, and institutions joined in buying, helping the index recover the 3,000 level.

Although the KOSPI has broken its continuous downward trend and turned into a rising market, among those in their 20s and 30s, complaints such as "When will the stocks I bought finally rise?" continue. Along with criticisms of their lack of market knowledge, advice to abandon impatience is mixed in, causing considerable stress. In particular, some have even taken out 'Yeongkkeul' (a neologism meaning borrowing to the limit, including loans, to invest in stocks or other financial products), and are psychologically strained in their investments.

According to the securities industry, as of the end of June this year, the amount invested in stocks by people in their 20s and 30s using borrowed money exceeded 38 trillion won. The total new margin loan amount from securities firms in the first half of the year was 185.8654 trillion won, with an outstanding balance of 23.7827 trillion won. Among these, the new loan amount by young people was 38.7453 trillion won, accounting for 67% of last year's total loan amount of 57.0639 trillion won.

Kim, a late-20s office worker, said, "I started stocks for the first time this year," adding, "At first, I had small profits, so it was good, but once the market fluctuated, I suffered a big loss." He continued, "I can't focus on work, and I'm worried."

Another early-30s office worker, Park, raised his voice, saying, "I followed my seniors at work and started stocks, but it's no ordinary matter." Park said, "I have suffered many losses and think about stocks all day long," emphasizing, "Now, recovering the principal is my goal."

Meanwhile, there are opinions to buy Samsung Electronics, which recently shocked novice investors by falling to the '60,000 won electronics' level. According to the Korea Exchange on the 14th, from the 28th of last month to the 13th of this month, individual investors maintained a net buying position in Samsung Electronics for 10 trading days, purchasing a net amount of 2.702 trillion won. This means that even when individuals sold other stocks during the correction market, they continuously bought Samsung Electronics at the bottom.

Lee, a 30-something office worker, said, "Isn't Samsung Electronics the national stock?" and added, "I think it will rise someday." However, despite this buying spree by individuals, Samsung Electronics' stock price has struggled to gain momentum.

Samsung Electronics' stock price, which surpassed 90,000 won in January, fell to the 60,000 won range on the 12th, marking a 10-month low. On the 15th, Samsung Electronics closed at 70,100 won, up 1.01% from the previous day (14th). It returned to the 70,000 won range in three trading days based on the closing price.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

As the difficult stock investment continues for those in their 20s and 30s, experts have lowered their KOSPI outlook. This is due to global financial market tightening and inflation concerns.

Major domestic securities firms have lowered the lower bound of their year-end KOSPI forecasts to around 2,850 points and predict that the stock market will continue a box range adjustment (Boxpi) for 3 to 6 months. They also forecast that the won/dollar exchange rate, which surged to 1,200 won during intraday trading, will escape the rapid rise phase but expect the dollar to remain strong.

On the 17th, Yonhap News surveyed research center heads of five major domestic securities firms, and these firms have recently lowered their KOSPI outlooks one after another.

Samsung Securities lowered its Q4 KOSPI expected fluctuation range from 3,000?3,300 points in last month's forecast to 2,900?3,200 points. KB Securities also adjusted its Q4 KOSPI forecast from 3,050?3,370 points last month to 2,850?3,350 points. Korea Investment & Securities lowered its second-half KOSPI fluctuation range from 3,000?3,550 points in May to 2,900?3,200 points in this survey.

The heads of securities firms' research centers expect that recent adjustments will be influenced for some time by adverse factors such as the US tapering of asset purchases, the China Evergrande Group crisis, and global production disruptions. They particularly foresee that the stock market trend will turn positive only after inflation, tightening concerns, and supply issues improve.

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