Prices of the 10 most heavily traded stocks in South Korea have soared more than 30 percent this year, reflecting strong investor appetite for issues that frequently change hands, a market tracker said Friday.
According to FnGuide, prices of the main bourse's top 10 stocks in terms of cumulative turnover ratio surged an average 30.5 percent over the past one-month period.
This undated photo shows an investor watching an electronic bulletin board at a brokerage house in Seoul. (Yonhap)
The turnover ratio, which measures how many times a listed stock is traded, is calculated by dividing a stock's trading volume during a given period with the number of listed shares. The higher the ratio, the more active its trading.
Prices of all of the most heavily traded stocks rose during the period, with troubled Hanjin Shipping Co. registering the steepest price increase.
Hanjin Shipping, the most heavily traded stock with a turnover ratio of 903 percent, saw its price more than double to 732 won on Jan. 31 from 367 won at the end of last year.
However, investors in Hanjin Shipping stand to lose big, as a local court said Thursday that it has decided to end a rehabilitation program for the company, heralding the liquidation of the country's one-time top shipping line.
The court said it will formally announce the liquidation of the cash-strapped shipping firm on Feb. 17. Established in 1977, Hanjin Shipping was the country's No. 1 shipper but was put under court receivership in September 2016 due to a liquidity crisis.
Most other heavily traded stocks also chalked up price hikes of 25 percent to 57 percent.
In contrast, prices of the 10 least trade stocks, including Hankuk Glass Industries Co., declined 0.61 percent on average over the cited period.
On the secondary KOSDAQ market, prices of the 10 most heavily traded stocks jumped an average 20.6 percent during the period, with those of the bottom 10 issues edging up 0.06 percent. (Yonhap)
