Stock transactions via mobile gadgets have grown sharply in South Korea over the past year as more retail investors opt to use smartphones and tablets for trading, the bourse operator said Monday.
  

Trading through mobile devices accounted for 25.06 percent of the total in the tech-laden KOSDAQ market as of Oct. 28, up from 21.27 percent a year earlier, according to the Korea Exchange.
  

The ratio has been on a steady rise over the past five years from 3.8 percent in 2010 to 14.03 percent in 2012 and 17.52 percent in 2013, the data showed.
  

On the main KOSPI market, mobile trading also jumped to 15.55 percent from last year's 10.70 percent, according to the KRX.
  

The increasing trade volume on mobile platforms is attributable to the widespread use of smartphones and trading applications offered by local brokerage houses, according to market watchers.
  

The growth in mobile trading pushed down the proportion of stock trading via the home trading system to 54.68 percent this year from last year's 57.41 percent on the KOSDAQ, and the use of trading terminals inched down from 0.42 percent to 0.38 percent, the KRX said.
  

As for the KOSPI, more people opted for the HTS with the ratio coming in at 33.12 percent this year, up from last year's 28.02 percent, while the trading with computer terminals slid to 0.38 percent this year from 0.42 percent. (Yonhap)