KOSDAQ Ranks No.1 in Global Stock Market Gains... Led by Ecopro and Individual Investors

Both Growth Rate and Trading Volume Surpass KOSPI
Recorded 24.77% in Q1 Alone
Exceeds Nasdaq's 17.4% Growth Rate

This year, the KOSDAQ index has recorded a rise of over 20%, ranking first in global stock market gains. This surpasses the gains of both the KOSPI and the US NASDAQ during the same period. The surge in secondary battery stocks and the buying rally by individual investors are seen as driving forces behind the KOSDAQ index's rise. However, the rapid increase in a short period has also led to a growing scale of 'debt investment,' which is a concerning factor.

According to the Korea Exchange on the 8th, the KOSDAQ index's rise in the first quarter of this year (January 2 to March 31) was 24.77%. This is more than double the KOSPI's rise of 10.75% during the same period. On the 5th, it closed at 872.36, setting a new yearly high. The KOSDAQ index surpassing the 870 level is the first time in over 10 months since June 9 last year (877.18).

Compared to major global stock markets during the same period, the rise is overwhelming. It recorded the highest gain by a large margin compared to the US NASDAQ (17.4%), Taiwan Weighted Index (12.2%), Japan Nikkei Index (7.5%), and Hong Kong H-Index (3.9%).

[Image source=Yonhap News]

The KOSDAQ has continued its daily rally, and trading volume has also increased significantly. The 'investor deposit,' which is standby capital that can be injected into the stock market at any time, reached 50.5307 trillion won on the 4th. The previous day (the 3rd) recorded 53.0505 trillion won. This is the highest level since September 2 last year. The average daily trading volume this year has reached 9.7808 trillion won, an increase of over 41% compared to last year (6.9006 trillion won). This is even higher than the KOSPI's average daily trading volume of 8.1442 trillion won.

The rally in the KOSDAQ has been led by individual investors. From the beginning of this year (January 2 to April 6), institutional and foreign investors sold stocks worth 2.9302 trillion won and 476.3 billion won respectively in the KOSDAQ market, while individuals alone purchased stocks worth 4.3276 trillion won.

The secondary battery sector was the most purchased KOSDAQ stock by individual investors. During this period, individual investors net bought EcoPro stocks worth 1.0138 trillion won. Supported by the net buying trend of individual investors, EcoPro started the year ranked 6th in market capitalization and has now risen to 2nd place. Its market capitalization increased from 9.1346 trillion won at the beginning of the year to 13.5079 trillion won as of the 6th, comparable to LG Group's holding company LG's market capitalization of 13.0245 trillion won. The second most purchased stock by individual investors after EcoPro was EcoPro BM, with net purchases worth 608.9 billion won.

However, the increasing scale of 'debt investment' in the KOSDAQ is a factor that raises concerns. As of the 4th, the credit loan balance in the KOSDAQ market was 9.719 trillion won. This exceeds the KOSPI's 9.0564 trillion won. At the beginning of the year, the KOSPI had about 1 trillion won more than the KOSDAQ, but this was reversed from the 22nd of last month.

Researcher Heo Jae-hwan of Eugene Investment & Securities analyzed, "The KOSDAQ index has recovered close to the peak of June 2022, but except for the three EcoPro companies, the KOSDAQ market is still at the bottom level," adding, "Such a concentrated trend is unlikely to continue."

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