백신 랠리 언제까지?...코로나19 속 주식 트렌드 및 새해 전망<br /><br />Global stock markets have seen incredible returns for investors in 2020, with the South Korean stock market hitting an all-time high.<br />They're encouraged by low interest rates and government policies to support businesses... which have boosted sentiment.<br />But will this trend continue in 2021?<br />Kim Sung-min has the details.<br />South Korea's KOSPI passed several milestones this year, and hit an all-time high of 2,800.<br />Behind this trend was the massive inflow of new individual investors,...who saw the sudden collapse of stock prices in March as an opportunity to enter the market.<br />They were also encouraged by low interest rates and the government's policies to support liquidity.<br />Kiwoom Securities, which has the largest number of private investment customers in Korea, saw around 3-point-2 million new accounts in 2020,... four times that of the previous year.<br />And many of these investors rushed to buy stocks in four sectors.<br />"I'd like to explain with the keyword, BBIG: batteries, bio, internet and games. These sectors dominated the Korean stock market during the rebound from the pandemic. Most of them have benefited from the non-contact transformation."<br />Vaccines for COVID-19 are another game changer for the stock market.<br />With growing optimism that life can return to normal, stocks that were hardest hit by the pandemic are starting to recover.<br />On Christmas Eve, when the KOSPI surpassed the 2,800 mark,... stocks in travel, aviation, theme parks, movies and duty free saw the largest daily growth after semiconductors.<br />And it's not just the Korean stock market that's booming.<br />The total size of global stock markets amounted to some 1-hundred-point-two trillion U.S. dollars as of December 18th,...up 17 percent on-year.<br />Experts say optimism over a vaccine is likely to keep boosting global stock markets in 2021.<br />"I expect 2021 to become a very good market because an economic recovery is expected following the pandemic. And technology stocks are forecast to grow rapidly in 2021,... further accelerating the rally in the markets."<br />However, the expert warns that the actual progress of vaccination could affect the pace of market recovery.<br />Developed countries that started vaccinations earlier will get back to normal faster,... seeing their markets growing.<br />Market watchers assume however that South Korea is likely to still benefit through increased exports to those revived markets.<br />Kim Sung-min, Arirang News<br />
