Overseas Stock Trading Volume Surpasses 300 Trillion Won This Year

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Ji Yeon-jin] The transaction amount of overseas stocks by domestic investors has surpassed 300 trillion won this year.

According to the Korea Securities Depository on the 22nd, the settlement amount (purchase + sale) of overseas stocks by domestic investors reached $277.1 billion (approximately 326 trillion won) as of the 16th of this year. This is an increase of 39.7% ($78.7 billion) compared to last year ($198.3 billion), continuously breaking the all-time record.

By stock, Tesla ($21.8 billion) and Apple ($7.9 billion) ranked first and second in settlement amounts. These companies were also the top two in net purchases, with Tesla’s net purchase amount (purchase settlement amount - sale settlement amount) at $1.45 billion (1.7027 trillion won) and Apple at $610 million (721 billion won).

In particular, the 'meme stock' craze that emerged at the beginning of the year played a significant role in the surge of transactions. Representative meme stocks GameStop ($6.5 billion) and AMC Entertainment ($5.7 billion) ranked third and fifth in settlement amounts, respectively. These stocks were considered a 'battlefield against short selling,' attracting a large volume of individual investor transactions.

Trading of Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs) and Exchange-Traded Notes (ETNs) was also active. The ETF tracking the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index at 3x leverage (Direxion Daily Semiconductor Bull 3X ETF) and the ETN tracking the price movements of major tech stocks like Facebook and Netflix at 3x leverage (BMO REX MicroSectors FANG+ Index 3X Leveraged ETN) ranked fourth and eighth, respectively.

The net purchase amount of overseas stocks this year was $15.8 billion (18.6 trillion won), which is 12.8% higher than the net purchase amount during the same period last year ($14 billion). By stock, following Tesla and Apple, Alphabet (Google’s parent company) ($470 million), the 'SPDR S&P500 ETF' investing in the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index ($420 million), and Taiwanese semiconductor company TSMC ($370 million) ranked third to fifth.