Investors in their 30s posted the highest domestic stock market turnover rate last month, as the Middle East war rattled equity markets.
Heightened volatility from the U.S.-Iran conflict triggered active "change of hands" as investors sought to buy the dip, according to an analysis by the Seoul Economic Daily.
The Seoul Economic Daily analyzed accounts of 2.42 million individual clients at Samsung Securities across age groups over the past three months from January to March. Turnover rates for stocks listed on both the KOSPI and KOSDAQ markets rose in March compared to February across all age groups. Investors in their 30s recorded the highest March turnover rate at 72.6%, up 13.3 percentage points from 59.3% in February, marking the most frequent trading activity. Those in their 50s and 40s ranked second and third with turnover rates of 64.8% and 63.7%, respectively. Investors aged 60 and above followed at 57.1%, with those in their 20s at 41.7%.
Turnover rate is calculated by dividing trading volume over a given period by the number of listed shares. A higher figure indicates more frequent stock transactions. The widespread increase in trading across all age groups last month was attributed to a convergence of short-term risk aversion and dip-buying demand, as even the domestic stock market — which had maintained the top spot for gains — turned weak due to the Middle East conflict. "Daily trading increased due to anxiety over the Middle East war, and this overlapped with buying demand from investors who judged the war issue to be a short-term event," a Samsung Securities official explained.
An examination of fund flows in and out of stock accounts by age group in March showed that all age groups except those in their 30s saw more outflows than inflows. During this period, investors in their 30s added 25 billion won to their stock accounts, while those aged 60 and above withdrew 33.1 billion won. The 60-and-above group recorded the largest outflows, followed by those in their 40s (-24.3 billion won), 50s (-10.2 billion won) and 20s (-2.4 billion won). "Young investors in their 20s and 30s have developed a strong belief that 'crisis equals opportunity' through experiences such as COVID-19, and with more time until retirement, they appear to have moved less money out of stock accounts or pursued aggressive investments," a Samsung Securities official said. "For investors in their 40s and above, conservative investment tendencies considering retirement and spending on real estate or children's education played a role."
Despite Middle East risks and concerns over semiconductor oversupply, semiconductor stocks dominated the most actively traded names across all age groups in March. Samsung Electronics (005930.KS) and SK hynix (000660.KS) ranked first and second with trading volumes of 35.21 trillion won and 16.52 trillion won, respectively. The two stocks maintained top trading positions for three consecutive months. Other heavily traded names included Hyundai Motor (005380.KS) at 4.81 trillion won, KODEX Leverage exchange-traded fund at 4.23 trillion won and Doosan Enerbility (034020.KS) at 3.95 trillion won. "The concentration of investment demand in the KODEX Leverage ETF means that many investors judged the market decline during March to be excessive," a Samsung Securities official said. "It can be interpreted as short-term traders piling in with an eye on a market rebound."