"Securities Stocks Expected to Attract Buying After 4Q Earnings Release... Focus on Major Firms"

Due to concerns over earnings, the stock prices of securities companies underperformed the KOSPI in December of last year. However, there are expectations that the sector will rebound this year, supported by developments such as the legalization of cryptocurrencies and security token offerings (STO).

Last month, the KRX Securities Index rose by 1.8%, underperforming the KOSPI's return by approximately 5.7 percentage points. The average daily trading value in the domestic stock market was 33 trillion won, down 13.2% from the previous month. Ko Yeonsu, a researcher at Hana Securities, explained that concerns over fourth-quarter earnings-such as the impact of provisioning and decreased bond valuation gains due to rising interest rates-were already reflected in the stock prices, accounting for their poor performance.

However, Kiwoom Securities (+7%) and Mirae Asset Securities (+6.6%) showed relatively strong stock performance compared to their competitors. These firms recently received approval for new businesses such as issuance notes and Integrated Investment Accounts (IMA). Ko forecasted, "In 2026, large securities firms with high sensitivity to trading value and the ability to diversify earnings through new businesses like issuance notes and IMA will see improved earnings visibility."

Although financial authorities have moved to curb the overheated overseas stock marketing by securities firms, the impact on earnings is expected to be limited. Ko noted, "Even if trading volume decreases somewhat due to the suspension of overseas stock marketing, the commission rates for overseas stocks are about twice as high as those for domestic stocks. Therefore, the impact on securities firms' commission income will be limited." Last year, overseas stocks accounted for about 7% of the total trading value of domestic and overseas stocks.

Another positive factor is the series of digital asset-related bills expected to be introduced at the start of the new year. The National Assembly and financial authorities are currently preparing the Basic Act on Digital Assets (the second phase of virtual asset legislation), and a comprehensive bill containing the government's proposal is expected to be submitted in January. The goal is to pass the bill at a plenary session of the National Assembly around February or March. Ko pointed out, "With the STO bill also awaiting only final approval by the National Assembly, a selective approach to stocks with growth drivers in digital assets appears to be effective."