100 Trillion Won in Daily Stock Trading... Securities Firms Grinning Ear to Ear [Weekend Money]

Daily Trading Value Surpasses 100 Trillion Won Again in March
Customer Deposits Exceed 130 Trillion Won
Policies to Enhance Market Accessibility Act as Catalysts

The average daily trading value in the domestic stock market is hovering around 100 trillion won. With the launch of blue-chip leveraged exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and various policies aimed at improving market accessibility, this surge in trading value is expected to continue for the time being. This serves as the backdrop for rising expectations regarding the earnings of major domestic securities firms, whose revenue from transaction fees has increased.

According to the Korea Exchange on May 10, the average daily trading value in the domestic stock market reached 110.6698 trillion won (including ETFs and other products) as of May 6. After surpassing 100 trillion won on both March 3 and 4, the trading value has once again climbed into the triple-digit trillion range.

Customer deposits, which serve as standby funds for the stock market, stood at 130.7434 trillion won as of May 6. Since February 19, customer deposits have consistently remained above the 100 trillion won mark.

This flow of funds is expected to continue for the foreseeable future, as policies to improve accessibility to the stock market are being introduced one after another. Notably, on May 22, leveraged ETFs targeting blue-chip stocks such as Samsung Electronics and SK hynix will be launched. The easing of regulations on integrated accounts for foreign investors is also expected to attract additional funds to the domestic stock market. Furthermore, an environment is being created that enables investment in unlisted companies, with products such as the National Growth Fund for Citizen Participation and Business Development Companies (BDCs) becoming available.

As capital flows into the stock market, securities firms are seeing a positive outlook. When trading value—and thus market turnover—increases, commission revenue from brokerage services rises, and interest income from margin loans also grows. If additional capital-raising events such as rights offerings or initial public offerings (IPOs) occur, profits are expected to be further maximized.

Already in the first quarter of this year, the net profit of securities firms affiliated with the five major financial holding companies reached 1.2922 trillion won, up 114.9% from the same period last year. Korea Investment & Securities and Mirae Asset Securities are also projected to post record-breaking growth.

Jo Ahae, a researcher at Meritz Securities, explained, "Although losses from bond valuation due to rising market interest rates are inevitable, the environment will remain favorable for securities firms with a relatively high proportion of brokerage revenue."

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