South Korea Stocks Lose Steam as Average Trading Value Falls to 2026 Low

Average daily trading value last week was 17.5 trillion won

Investors stay on the sidelines ahead of Big Tech earnings

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Average daily trading value on South Korea’s benchmark stock market has fallen below 20 trillion won, adding to signs of fading momentum in equities. The Kospi’s listless trading around the 5,500 level has accelerated the loss of energy in the market.

According to the Korea Exchange on Oct. 26, average daily trading value on the KOSPI market came to 17.5584 trillion won ($12.7 billion) last week, from Oct. 19 to Oct. 23. That was down 28.21% from 24.4598 trillion won the previous week. It was the lowest weekly reading this year.

In June, when the Kospi broke above 9,000, average daily trading value was close to 60 trillion won. Last week’s figure was less than one-third of that level. The monthly daily average for October also stood at just 20.6179 trillion won. Depending on trading this week, the monthly average could slip below 20 trillion won as well.

The sharp drop in trading value reflects the Kospi’s failure to find a clear catalyst for a rebound. The index was trapped in a narrow 5,500-5,700 range last week. After plunging from the 7,000 level earlier this month, it has struggled to recover, fueling investor fatigue. The Kospi closed down 1.46% at 5,469.47 on Oct. 26.

Major events scheduled for this week are also keeping investors on edge. Amazon, Alphabet and Microsoft are set to report earnings, along with SK Hynix, South Korea’s semiconductor bellwether. Sentiment toward artificial-intelligence shares has wavered recently, prompting investors to wait for those results before deciding on their next move.

Monetary policy meetings at major central banks are another variable. The Federal Reserve will decide interest rates at its regular Federal Open Market Committee meeting on Oct. 28. The Bank of Canada, the European Central Bank and the Bank of Japan are also due to announce rate decisions.

“Investors are clearly inclined to wait for a range of events, so the wait-and-see mood could persist for the time being,” Kim Dae-jun, an analyst at Korea Investment & Securities, said. “The Kospi’s lower bound should be seen at 5,200, and investors need to be selective rather than aggressively adding exposure.”

Kang Jin-kyu, Korea Economic Daily reporter josep@hankyung.com