Samsung Securities, Weekly Trading Volume of US Stocks Surpasses 10 Trillion Won

Transaction Volume Doubled in 2 Years

Samsung Securities, which launched its US stock weekly trading service in 2022, announced on the 16th that the cumulative trading amount surpassed 10 trillion KRW as of the end of last year.

Samsung Securities' US stock weekly trading service enhances convenience by allowing trading of US stocks during daytime hours in Korean time. It was the world's first service opened by Samsung Securities in February 2022 and spread to other domestic securities firms last year.

The average monthly trading volume for weekly trading, which was around 300 billion KRW in 2022, nearly doubled to about 600 billion KRW last year. During June to August 2023, when the US index sharply rose amid expectations of easing US tightening policies, it increased to around 800 billion KRW.

The advantage of the US stock weekly trading service is that it enables pair trading between sectors and stocks in the domestic and US markets during daytime hours. Pair trading is an investment technique that identifies two stocks moving similarly in price, shorts (sells) the overvalued stock, and longs (buys) the undervalued stock. It also allows quick responses to domestic and international risk issues.

In fact, about 40% of all weekly trading orders are executed between 9:30 AM (during daylight saving time) and 12 PM. Considering this, the company explained that there is likely a close relationship between the domestic market, which opens at 9 AM, and the US stock weekly trading service.

For example, on August 24, 2023, when Nvidia announced a surprise Q2 earnings report, Korean investors’ buying surged, resulting in the highest trading volume of 81.7 billion KRW since the launch of Samsung Securities' US stock weekly trading service. On May 25, 2023, when US debt ceiling negotiations faced difficulties and international credit rating agency Fitch placed the US sovereign credit rating outlook under 'negative watch,' domestic investors sold stocks for risk defense, generating 81.1 billion KRW in trading volume.

By age group, those aged 60 and above accounted for the highest share of total trading volume at 28.8%, followed by those in their 50s (26.1%), 40s (19.7%), and 30s (15.0%). Offline usage of the US stock weekly trading service has also become active. The offline proportion of Samsung Securities' US stock weekly trading service users aged 60 and above increased to 65.3%, up from 46.3% in the two years before the service launch. This is analyzed to be due to more customers participating in the US stock market through real-time consultations with their dedicated private bankers (PBs).

By stock, the trading amounts were highest for Tesla (1.8926 trillion KRW), Nvidia (817.5 billion KRW), Apple (514.8 billion KRW), and Microsoft (432.6 billion KRW), in that order.

A Samsung Securities official stated, "It appears that the so-called 'Seohak Ants'?investors eager to invest in US stocks amid expectations of easing tightening?have increased significantly. Samsung Securities will strive to provide not only weekly trading but also fast and accurate investment information so that customers can respond quickly to the market."