Son Dong-young (sixth from left), president and CEO of Seoul Economic Daily and Seoul Economic TV, poses for a photo with guests at the opening ceremony of “Seoul Economic Money Trend 2025” held at Lotte Hotel Seoul in Jung-gu, Seoul, on July 16 last year. Reporter Oh Seung-hyun
With the KOSPI ranking first in global stock market gains this year, following last year, seven out of 10 retail investors plan to increase their stock investment weighting, a survey found. Even amid recent market volatility, about 25% of investors hold the rosy outlook that the index could reach the “10,000 mark” within the year, a factor analysts attribute to the accelerating “money move” into the stock market. However, with concerns over U.S. interest rate hikes and the negative impact of war in the Middle East, the stability of macroeconomic indicators such as interest rates and exchange rates was cited as the biggest market risk.
According to a survey conducted by Seoul Economic Daily on Monday of 1,200 participants in “Seoul Economic Money Trend 2026,” to be held on July 1, 70% of respondents (who could select up to two answers) said they would expand their “stock” investment weighting. “Property,” long the representative wealth-building tool, came in at 39.2%. As economic uncertainty grew, some respondents also said they would increase their weighting in safe assets such as cash (9.5%), deposits (9.3%), and gold and silver (6.2%).
Respondents expected the domestic stock market to maintain its upward trend through year-end, led by artificial intelligence (AI) chip stocks. Asked about their year-end KOSPI outlook, 25.8% predicted 10,000 or above, while 27.9% expected a range of 9,000 to 10,000. The most common view, held by 36.3%, was that exchange rates and interest rates must stabilize for the index to reach the “10,000 mark.” This appears to reflect the interpretation that such stability could minimize outflows of foreign investor funds and lead to improved corporate earnings.
Although the government continues its high-intensity property lending restrictions, four out of 10 investors expected home prices not to fall in the second half. Regarding the property market outlook for the second half of this year, 43% of respondents said prices would not decline, overwhelming the 3.9% who said prices would not rise for some time. Respondents predicted that the upward trend in home prices, centered on Seoul, would be maintained due to the impact of “a shortage of new supply in major cities such as Seoul (64.3%)” and “rising jeonse and monthly rent prices in major cities such as Seoul (41.3%).” Rising construction costs and sale prices for new apartments (16.3%) were also cited as factors driving home prices higher.