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| 증권사 간판. (사진=연합뉴스) |
[Alpha Biz=(Chicago) Reporter Paul Lee] Stock prices are also on the rise as securities firms' performance in the first quarter of this year is expected to improve on the back of the KOSDAQ surge and falling bond rates.
According to financial information provider FnGuide on the 24th, the sum of operating profit estimates of five major securities firms listed on the domestic stock market (Mirae Asset Securities, NH Investment & Securities, Korea Financial Group, Samsung Securities and Kiwoom Securities) was 1.1235 trillion won, quadrupling from the previous quarter (293.5 billion won).
By company, Samsung Securities' first-quarter operating profit estimate is expected to reach 239.5 billion won, nearly nine times higher than the fourth quarter of last year (27 billion won). Mirae Asset Securities' first-quarter operating profit is also expected to more than double from the fourth quarter of last year (90.2 billion won) to 191.5 billion won. Korea Financial Group's operating profit estimate for the first quarter is expected to turn into a surplus of 264.8 billion won. Korea Financial Group recorded 97.3 billion won in operating losses in the previous quarter. The operating profit of Kiwoom Securities and NH Investment & Securities in the first quarter is also estimated to increase by 75.93% and 36.74%, respectively, compared to the previous quarter.
Securities stocks also rose from the beginning of the year on expectations of improved earnings in the first quarter. According to the Korea Exchange, the KRX Securities Index, which consists of 13 stocks including Daishin Securities and Hanwha Investment & Securities, rose 8.46% from the end of last year.
The improvement in the first-quarter performance of securities firms was attributable to improved performance in the brokerage sector as the transaction amount increased significantly due to a rise on the KOSDAQ stemming from soaring secondary holdings. According to the Korea Exchange, the average daily transaction amount in the first quarter was 17.6 trillion won, up 35.3% from the previous quarter. In particular, the KOSDAQ daily average transaction amount (9.6 trillion won) was ahead of KOSPI (8 trillion won).
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