Kosdaq rose over 1,000 points in 20 years and 7 months

Kosdaq recovered beyond 1,000 points for the first time in roughly 21 years since the dot-com bubble in September 2000. With Kospi stuck in a box, individual investors are quickly moving to small- and mid-sized stocks.

Kosdaq increased by 11.26 points (1.14%) from the previous trading day and closed at 1,000.65 points on Monday. This is the first time for Kosdaq’s closing price to exceed 1,000 points since September 14, 2000.

Kosdaq reached the lowest stage of 428.35 points in March last year as a result of COVID-19 but recovered by 133 percent within just about a year. Kosdaq’s market capitalization on Monday also reached the highest point ever at 411.1 trillion won.

On Monday alone, foreign investors net purchased 36.4 billion won, driving Kosdaq’s price increase, while individual investors net sold 19.6 billion won. However, it was the individual investors who bought 21.6 trillion won from last year to this past March that set the foundation of Kosdaq’s escalation to over 1,000 points. These investors net purchased over 5.33 trillion won this year alone, driving stock prices.

Experts emphasize that for Kosdaq to comfortably remain over 1,000 points and continue the growth momentum, listed companies’ performance should follow. “Recent news about clinical trials and bonus issues of bio stocks are driving Kosdaq’s price increase,” said Jeong Yong-taek, the head of a research center at IBK Securities. “Good performance by these companies is needed to maintain the current price trend.”


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