6 out of 10 Domestic Stock Investors Say "Holding, Not Selling"

Public Opinion App Kratos, Survey Results from Over 6,000 Participants

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyungsoo Park] Amid a significant decline in the domestic stock market in the first half of this year, 60% of individual investors did not sell their stocks, expecting a rebound.

Kratos, a blockchain-based mobile opinion app, announced on the 6th that it conducted a survey over the past seven days titled "With stock prices falling continuously, what is your current stock investment status?" Out of 6,098 participants, the margin of error was 1.25%.

Six out of ten respondents answered that they are "holding without selling." Those who answered "cut losses" accounted for 27.88%. 5.15% of respondents said they are "averaging down (making additional purchases)."

By age group, the highest proportion of those who answered "cut losses" was in their 20s. Those aged 50 and above had a higher proportion of respondents who said they are "holding without selling." The percentage of respondents who said they are "making additional purchases" was around 5% across all age groups.

While the domestic stock market showed a weak trend, the KOSPI index fell more than 20%, from 2,953.97 on January 5 to 2,300.34 on the 4th of this month. During the same period, the KOSDAQ index dropped more than 25%, from 1,009.62 to 722.73. According to the Korea Exchange, among 40 major overseas stock indices in June, the KOSDAQ index recorded the highest decline rate, and the KOSPI index ranked second.

Following the financial authorities' measures to ease stock market volatility, from the 4th, securities firms' obligation to maintain credit loan collateral ratios will be relaxed for three months. From the 7th to October 6, restrictions on listed companies' share buybacks will be eased. The Korea Exchange has increased the number of special audit personnel to monitor short selling.

Kratos is a new platform conducting votes on various topics such as politics, society, economy, and entertainment. It has secured 600,000 app downloads and over 300,000 registered users. The global version of Kratos is receiving positive responses in Southeast Asian markets such as Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and Indonesia.