[Edaily Reporter KIM YOON-JEONG ] It has been revealed that approximately 30% of the margin trading funds used to purchase stocks on the domestic stock market are concentrated in two stocks: SamsungElectronics(005930)and SK hynix(000660). The margin trading balance for these two stocks is nearing 7 trillion won, and their share of the total stock market margin trading balance has surged from an average of around 6% last year to around 20% this year.

According to financial information provider FnGuide Inc. on the 15th, as of the 12th, SamsungElectronics’ margin loan balance stood at 3.6358 trillion won, while SK hynix’s was 3.3311 trillion won. The combined balance for the two stocks totaled 6.9669 trillion won, accounting for 27.2% of the total margin loan balance on the KOSPI and KOSDAQ (25.5976 trillion won). When narrowing the scope to the KOSPI, the two stocks accounted for 36.5% of the total margin loan balance of 19.0935 trillion won.
The concentration of margin loans in SamsungElectronics and SK hynix has risen sharply recently. The share of these two stocks in the total margin loan balance rose gradually from 2.71% in 2023 to 5.37% in 2024 and 6.73% last year. However, after climbing into the 10% range at the end of last year, it surpassed 20% in May of this year. On August 12, it soared to 33.6%, and the average share from the start of this year through the 12th reached 22.35%.
It is believed that as the stock prices of these two companies rose sharply on expectations of an improvement in the semiconductor industry, investment demand utilizing margin loans also expanded. From the start of this year through June 22, while the KOSPI rose 116.3%, SamsungElectronics surged 194.8% and SK hynix soared 348.4%. Although their stock prices subsequently underwent a sharp correction amid concerns over the profitability of artificial intelligence (AI)-related investments, the concentration of margin trading in these two stocks has persisted.
As of the previous trading day, June 13, the KOSPI had fallen 42% from its June 22 high. Over the same period, SamsungElectronics and SK hynix also fell 41.7% and 58.3%, respectively. Given that large-cap semiconductor stocks had led the index’s rise, the price movements of these two stocks appear to be having a greater impact on the domestic stock market as a whole, even during this correction phase.
The margin loan balance refers to the amount that investors have borrowed from securities firms to purchase stocks and have not yet repaid. When stock prices fall, investors’ collateral capacity decreases; if they fail to meet the maintenance margin requirement, they may be required to deposit additional collateral or face forced liquidation.