KOSPI Rewrites Its Lowest Points... 52-Week and All-Time Lows Also Fall 'One After Another'

40% of Listed Companies Hit 52-Week Lows in Stock Market on 26th
Need to Build Defensive Portfolio Less Affected by Economic Conditions

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Myunghwan Lee] 40% of all listed companies have fallen to their 52-week lows.

According to the Korea Exchange on the 27th, the KOSPI closed at 2,220.94, down 3.02% from the previous trading day. The KOSDAQ index also closed at 692.37, down 5.07% from the previous day, breaking below the 700 mark. Both indices closed at their lowest levels this year.

As the stock market plummeted, the number of stocks hitting new 52-week lows reached 1,039. Considering that the total number of listed stocks is 2,645, this corresponds to 39.28% of all listed companies. Based on intraday prices, 1,043 stocks also set new lows.

Breaking down the stocks that recorded 52-week lows by market, there were 398 in KOSPI, 630 in KOSDAQ, and 11 in KONEX. Compared to the total number of listed companies in each market, 42.38% of KOSPI stocks and 39.82% of KOSDAQ stocks hit new lows.

Looking at the stocks that hit 52-week lows on this day, many blue-chip stocks with high individual investor holdings were included. Semiconductor stocks such as Samsung Electronics (-1.10%), SK Hynix (-1.20%), and Samsung Electronics Preferred (-2.41%), which are leading KOSPI stocks, fell to new lows. Growth stocks like Naver (NAVER) (-2.85%) and Kakao (-2.13%) also showed new lows.

Recently, many stocks have closed at their lowest prices ever since listing, surpassing the 52-week period. A total of 199 stocks, accounting for 7.52% of all listed companies, closed at their lowest prices since listing based on closing prices. Large-cap stocks that recorded all-time lows include KakaoBank (-7.04%), Samsung SDS (-2.55%), KakaoPay (-4.16%), and SK Bioscience (-1.86%). Among them, KakaoBank, which has the highest market capitalization, closed at a price less than half of its peak price in the 90,000 won range shortly after listing.

The securities industry expects that this downward trend will not be short-lived. Risks such as a strong dollar and global economic slowdown are weighing on the domestic stock market. Since no improvement in the stock market is expected in the near term, it is advised to build a defensive portfolio focused on profits. Choi Jaewon, a researcher at Kiwoom Securities, advised, "It is necessary to continue a defensive strategy centered on profit momentum factors that can confirm short-term profit outlook improvements, including the recently strong defensive style."

Focusing investments on sectors less affected by the economy can also be an alternative, as predicting the direction of stock indices is difficult. Kim Younghwan, a researcher at NH Investment & Securities, recommended, "Approach mainly promising themes unrelated to the economy in mid-cap stocks (electric vehicle charging infrastructure, K-Entertainment, iPhone components, fertilizers, etc.), or invest in long-term issues such as factory automation, logistics automation, and service-related automation (humanoid robots, medical assistant robots)."