Intense competition continues for the 5th spot in the KOSPI market capitalization. This year, Hanwha Aerospace surpassed Hyundai Motor early on to secure the 5th position, but recent significant increases in stock prices for Naver and Doosan Enerbility have flipped the situation. With 'hand changes' accelerating in the stock market, fluctuations in rankings among the top market capitalizations are expected to continue.
According to the Korea Exchange on the 23rd, Naver reached the 5th position in the KOSPI market capitalization based on the regular trading session's closing price. Naver's market capitalization grew from 29.549 trillion won earlier this month to 46.105 trillion won by that day, climbing 7 ranks.
Naver's stock began to surge after Lee Jae-myung appointed Ha Jung-woo, former head of Naver Cloud's AI Innovation Center, as the newly established Chief of Future Planning for Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the President's Office. This was thanks to the company's rise as a beneficiary of the new government's AI policy. On that day, the stock showed strength again as former Naver CEO Han Seong-sook was appointed as the Minister of SMEs and Startups.
The owner of the 5th position in the KOSPI market changed several times during trading that day. Hanwha Aerospace, with a market capitalization of 44.364 trillion won, held the 5th spot until early trading, but fell to 7th with a closing price of 43.465 trillion won. This was the first time Hanwha Aerospace had lost the 5th position since its stock price crossed 900,000 won on the 10th.
Doosan Enerbility temporarily rose to the 5th position during trading that day, with its stock price hitting 69,400 won, the highest since November 2010. Doosan Enerbility ended trading at 68,600 won, up 13.95% (8,400 won) from the previous trading day, recording a market capitalization of 6th (43.943 trillion won).
The top four spots in KOSPI market capitalization are dominated by Samsung Electronics, SK hynix, Samsung Biologics, and LG Energy Solution, where the gap is relatively large, leading to minimal ranking changes. In contrast, the market capitalizations of listed companies in the 5th spot and below are relatively similar, which congests the rankings around this area. The rankings shift frequently depending on daily stock price movements.
Due to the financial stock boom, KB Financial rose to 5th in market capitalization on the 9th, only to fall to 9th on that day. Hyundai Motor has struggled to escape a negative (-) revenue since the beginning of the year, dropping from 5th to 8th in market capitalization.
As the KOSPI index reached a forward price-to-earnings ratio (PER, market capitalization ÷ net income) of around 10 times, performance of individual corporations is expected to become a critical variable going forward.
No Dong-gil, a researcher at Shinhan Investment & Securities, noted, comparing the KOSPI index's surge above the 3,000 mark in 2021, that 'corporate performance will be an important variable during the period of calm after the liquidity rally.' He added, 'In the third quarter of this year (July to September), corporate performance may fall short of market expectations, and external demand may weaken, indicating that only structural growth stocks that are not significantly affected by the economy will be able to break through.'