Photo = Getty Image Bank
ant. It refers to individual investors in the domestic stock market. Nothing is known about why individuals are called ants. It is only presumed that it has been recognized as small and unaffected as ants in the stock market. But this year was different. It has emerged as a’axis’ that controls the stock market.
According to the Financial Investment Association on the 26th, as of the end of last month (cumulative) stock trading activity accounts (accounts with a balance exceeding 100,000 won and trading results for the last six months) amounted to 3,472,48.6 million. Compared to the 2,9356,000 seats at the beginning of this year, it has increased dramatically.
In particular, the number of stock trading accounts has increased sharply since the end of February, when the novel coronavirus infection (Corona 19) was in full swing.
As the participation rate of ants in the stock market increased, the influence exerted also increased. According to the Korea Exchange, as of the 23rd, the amount that individuals bought this year in the domestic stock market (KOSPI, KOSDAQ, KONEX) was KRW 65,653 billion. Considering that it sold 4,243.2 billion won in the same period last year, it has exploded.
In January-February, when the Corona 19 incident began in earnest, individuals continued to purchase net purchases of 6 trillion won (6,272.5 billion won in January and 6,387 trillion won in February). In March, when the Corona 19 crisis peaked, shopping worth 11 trillion won was the largest this year, recording the largest net purchases of this year. △August 7,689.8 billion △September 7,6287 billion △October 3,215.9 billion △November 6,272.5 billion, etc.
It is worth noting that the ants that sold their stocks in the stock market every December have changed this year. Individuals have bought 5.7 trillion won until the 23rd this month. In contrast to net sales in the past five years (△4,8166 billion won in December 2019 △1,5805 trillion won in 2018 △5,133.1 billion won in 2017 △1.592.5 billion won in 2016 △1,5873 billion won in 2015) is.
Even the government can’t ignore the voices of ants.
Currently, the government is considering ways to provide tax incentives for long-term holdings in order to keep individuals’ tremendous financial power in the stock market. Short selling by institutional investors, which has caused controversy over the’tilted playground’, is also expected to be significantly limited due to individual opposition.
In addition, ants have raised the standards for non-taxation of capital gains tax, applied a basic deduction of 50 million won for equity-type public offering funds, and withdrew the standards for imposing capital gains tax on major shareholders.
The market is predicting that the influence of individuals on the stock market will increase in the future. It means that they are not individuals from the past who are pushed by foreigners and run by institutions.
Song-ryul Lee, reporter of Hankyung.com [email protected]
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