"Is the Bull Market Over? Now It's KOSDAQ's Turn"...10 Trillion Won in Margin Trading Awaits Santa Rally

[Financial News] Margin trading in the KOSDAQ market has surpassed 10 trillion won, fueled by expectations for policies to revitalize the market.

According to the Korea Financial Investment Association (KOFIA) on the 13th, as of the 11th, the outstanding margin loans in the KOSDAQ market reached 10.019 trillion won, marking the highest level so far this year.
When combined with the KOSPI Market, the total outstanding margin loans amounted to 27.3912 trillion won.
Outstanding margin loans refer to the amount investors have borrowed from securities firms for stock investment and have yet to repay. The higher the expectations for rising stock prices, the greater the outstanding balance.
In October, when the KOSPI surpassed the unprecedented 4,000-point mark and the KOSPI Market was surging, the KOSDAQ market was relatively neglected.

Recently, as media reports emerged that the government is preparing support measures for the KOSDAQ market, anticipation for a 'CheonSDAQ' (KOSDAQ index at 1,000) has grown, and the index has started to climb steadily. In fact, by the 11th, the KOSDAQ index had risen by 2.41%.
On the 4th, the KOSDAQ market's market capitalization surpassed 500 trillion won for the first time during trading hours. In addition, expectations for a year-end 'Santa Rally'—a phenomenon where stock prices rise at the end of the year—are growing.
Hyun-Yong Shin, a researcher at Yuanta Securities Korea, noted, "The so-called 'Santa Rally,' a phenomenon specific to December, is more pronounced in the KOSDAQ market than in the KOSPI. This year, the rally has been led by large-cap stocks for an extended period, widening the gap between large caps and small- to mid-cap stocks, as well as between the KOSPI and KOSDAQ indices. However, recently, small- and mid-cap stocks have started to outperform large caps, and the gap between the KOSPI and KOSDAQ is narrowing."

However, some experts argue that the current market rally is mainly driven by policy expectations and that a more sober assessment is necessary.
Kyungtae Kim, a researcher at Sangsangin Investment & Securities, stated, "The government's push for the CheonSDAQ policy and the pension fund's large-scale buying in KOSDAQ are certainly positive. However, the key factors attracting foreign investors are rising operating profits and performance expectations. It is important to remember that policy expectations alone are insufficient to sustain continuous foreign buying."
Meanwhile, according to the Korea Securities Depository (KSD), domestic investors made net purchases of U.S. stocks totaling $1.35 billion (about 2 trillion won) through the 11th of this month.
During this period, the top net purchased stock was Alphabet Inc. Class A Common Stock (GOOGL) at $453.65 million (about 668.5 billion won), followed by the Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (VOO) at $87.59 million and Oracle Corporation at $78.7 million.
gaa1003@fnnews.com Ahn Ga-eul Reporter