À̹ÌÁö È®´ë Samsung Electronics was the favorite in the first quarter, SK Corp. in the second, and Kakao in the third among retail investors who were the primary driver of the Korean stock market this year, but only those who jumped in the early months would have made meaningful money.
According to the Korea Exchange, the top pick by retail investors in the first quarter ended March this year was Samsung Electronics. Individual investors bought net 7.84 trillion won ($6.9 billion) worth common shares and 1.63 trillion won worth preferred stocks of Samsung Electronics during the first three months. The second most popular stock was SK Hynix, followed by Hyundai Motor, SK Innovation and Korea Electric Power Corp. (KEPCO).
Shares of Samsung Electronics gained 14.3 percent from an average of 52,235 won in the first quarter to 59,800 won on Tuesday. Its preferred shares also grew 17 percent over the period. The returns will go up further after adding dividends that the company pays every quarter. The top 10 picks by retail investors in the first quarter yielded more than 10 percent returns, excluding SK Hynix that fell 5.5 percent, KEPCO 5.2 percent and Shinhan Financial Group 4.2 percent.
But their second quarter¡¯s favorite stock – SK Holdings – lost 27.4 percent from the average of 265,906 won in the April to June period to the closing price of 193,000 won on Tuesday. Investors bought up SK Holdings on expectations of initial public offering of SK biopharmaceutical in July.
Their second top pick for the April to June period – Samsung Electronics¡¯ preferred shares – grew 20.6 percent.
Technology stocks continued their strong run during the Covid-19 lockdown. Retail investors net purchased 293.9 billion won worth shares of Kakao that gained 42.7 percent from the average stock price in the second quarter to Tuesday. Naver surged 25.2 percent.
Naver and Kakao were the most popular stocks in the third quarter ended September by retail traders, but they made loss during the period. Individual investors net bought 1.32 trillion won in Kakao and 1.05 trillion won in Naver from July to September, but they lost 5.5 percent and 6.7 percent, respectively, from the average stock price in the third quarter to Tuesday¡¯s closing price.
By Kim Gyu-sik, Shin Yoo-kyung and Choi Mira
[¨Ï Pulse by Maeil Business Newspaper & mk.co.kr, All rights reserved]