With the KOSPI stuck in a 6,000-point box range recently, the average daily transaction value this month hit its lowest level of the year. Compared with the period when the domestic market surged, the average daily transaction value fell by nearly 60%.
According to the Korea Financial Investment Association on the 7th, the average daily transaction value from Sept. 1 to 3 was 20.0484 trillion won. That is the lowest monthly figure this year. The average daily transaction value in August, the previous month, was a record low of 25.846 trillion won, but it fell by about 5 trillion won more in September in just one month.
By contrast, considering that it soared to around 50 trillion won in May–June when the market was surging, it has plunged to less than half. The average daily transaction value on the main board, which started the year at 27.0561 trillion won in January, stayed in the 29 trillion to 30 trillion won range in March–April, when volatility grew due to a Middle East–sparked military clash.
In July, however, as the domestic market entered a full-fledged correction, market vigor visibly faded. The KOSPI, which hit a peak at the 9,110 level on a closing basis on June 22, wobbled sharply in July and retreated to the 5,500 level. In August, helped by positives such as share buybacks by Samsung Electronics and SK hynix, it did not fall below the 6,000 level, but it was trapped in a 6,200–6,800 box range and failed to top 7,000 on a closing basis.
This month as well, with government bond yields in major global economies jumping and risk-off sentiment deepening, it remains stuck in the 6,000-point box range.
The KOSDAQ market is in an even more serious state. The average daily transaction value on KOSDAQ this month was only 4.9929 trillion won. Even compared with last year's average daily transaction value of 7.5476 trillion won, it is more than 2 trillion won lower.
On KOSDAQ, the average daily transaction value steadily stayed in the 13 trillion to 14 trillion won range from January (14.9122 trillion won), hitting a record high of 15.5661 trillion won in May. It then began to shrink in June. As the main board posted an all-time surge, flows appeared to concentrate there. After that, the average daily transaction value shrank to the 6 trillion won range in July and fell below 5 trillion won this month.
In the securities industry as well, expectations for the domestic market this month are being revised downward. Korea Investment & Securities Co., which once set the KOSPI upper bound as high as 11,000 points, presented a projected KOSPI band of 6,200 to 7,400 points this month.
Kim Dae-jun of Korea Investment & Securities Co. said, "After the sharp drop in July and the recovery in August, the KOSPI has secured downside rigidity," adding, "But a trend reversal still needs time."