The uncertainty is growing due to the tariff war originating from the United States, but this year, the domestic stock market has shown a strong performance, leading to a significant increase in transaction volume. However, the outflow of funds from foreign investors continues.
According to the Korea Exchange on the 16th, the average daily transaction volume in the securities market this year has been recorded at 10.5 trillion won. The average daily transaction volume, which was 9.6 trillion won in January, increased to 12.1 trillion won in February (from the 3rd to the 14th). Compared to December of last year (8.7353 trillion won), stock transactions have significantly increased.
The KOSDAQ market is also showing vitality. This year, the average daily transaction volume in the KOSDAQ market has been recorded at 7.7 trillion won, a significant increase from 6.5 trillion won in December of last year. Since the beginning of the year, the KOSPI index has risen by 7.7%, while the KOSDAQ index has seen an even larger increase of 13.6%.
The increase in transaction volume in the domestic stock market this new year is a phenomenon occurring as sectors benefiting from the advent of the second Trump administration are being sought. In particular, as last year's boom in U.S. stock investments led to a massive exodus of investors from the domestic stock market, they are now seeking new leading stocks in artificial intelligence (AI) semiconductors, warming the market. This means that natural transactions have increased as a rotation of various sectors has occurred.
Following the Chinese AI startup "DeepSeek," Korean stock market stocks such as NAVER, Kakao, and KRAFTON surged, and following the inauguration of the Trump administration, the shipbuilding and defense sectors also experienced significant increases. It was an unusual phenomenon for large-cap stocks from Hanwha Group to all set new record highs.
Looking at the top stocks by transaction volume in the securities market this month, following Samsung Electronics and SK hynix, which are ranked first and second by market capitalization, were Hanwha Ocean, Doosan Enerbility, Hanwha System, NAVER, Hanwha Aerospace, and Kakao.
The easing investment sentiment in the domestic stock market can also be confirmed by the increasing balance of credit transactions, commonly referred to as "debt investment." According to the Korea Financial Investment Association, the balance of credit transactions, which refers to the unpaid amount borrowed by investors from securities companies to purchase stocks, increased from 15 trillion won at the end of December last year to 17 trillion won as of the 13th of this month.
However, the outflow of foreign investors from the domestic stock market continues. Since the beginning of the year, foreign investors have net sold over 1.8 trillion won in the KOSPI and KOSDAQ markets. As a result, the proportion of stocks held by foreigners has fallen to the lowest level in 1 year and 5 months.
According to Yonhap Infomax, as of the 13th, the market capitalization of stocks held by foreigners in the securities market was 676 trillion won, accounting for 32% of the total market capitalization (2116 trillion won). This is the lowest level since September 2023.
The stock that foreign investors have sold the most this year is Samsung Electronics, with a net sale of 1.815 trillion won. Hyundai Motor and KB Financial are also among the stocks that have experienced significant net selling by foreigners.