Retail Investors Surge as KOSPI Enters 9,000 Era Amid Semiconductor FOMO

Employees celebrate in the dealing room of Woori Bank's headquarters in Jung-gu, Seoul, as the KOSPI closes above 9,000 for the first time in history on June 18. [Photo=Yonhap News]

As the KOSPI enters the 9,000 era, enthusiasm among individual investors is reaching new heights. The fear of missing out (FOMO) on semiconductor stocks, which are leading the market rally, has prompted a surge in new account openings among retail investors. This year, the total number of active stock trading accounts has surpassed 100 million for the first time in history.
According to the financial investment industry on June 19, since the KOSPI broke the 8,000 mark on May 26, individual investors have net purchased approximately 24 trillion won in the stock market. They have been net buyers on all trading days except for seven. Meanwhile, institutional investors also contributed to the upward trend with net purchases of around 4 trillion won, while foreign investors sold off about 29 trillion won, maintaining a net selling position on all but four trading days.
The market has been particularly focused on the two leading semiconductor stocks. During this period, SK Hynix's stock price surged by 38.33%, increasing its market capitalization by 30.8% to 1,913 trillion won. Samsung Electronics also saw its stock price rise by 23.93%, boosting its market cap to 2,119 trillion won, a 21.2% increase. Consequently, the combined market share of these two stocks in the KOSPI's total market capitalization grew from 48.8% on May 26 to 54.4% recently.
Retail investors have directed their buying power toward semiconductors, purchasing 7.66 trillion won worth of Samsung Electronics and 2.35 trillion won of SK Hynix from May 26 to June 18. During this time, Samsung Electronics ranked first in net purchases by individuals in terms of both trading volume and value, while SK Hynix ranked second by trading value.
In contrast, foreign investors sold off 12.48 trillion won of Samsung Electronics and 6.63 trillion won of SK Hynix during the same period. Samsung Electronics was the top stock for net selling by foreigners in both trading volume and value, while SK Hynix ranked second in trading value.
The participation of individual investors in the stock market is rapidly expanding. As of June 18, the number of stock trading accounts had increased from 98.29 million in January to 100.84 million, marking a year-to-date increase of approximately 10.14 million accounts, or a growth rate of 10.3%.
Experts note that the recent KOSPI rally is largely driven by individual investors. Labor Gil, a researcher at Shinhan Investment Corp, stated, "The influence of individual investors in the current KOSPI uptrend is greater than ever. Most of the selling volume from foreign investors in the top two stocks, Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, has been absorbed by individuals, with institutions also increasing their buying intensity."

* This article has been translated by AI.