Three companies duke it out for supremacy on the Kosdaq
When local Web portal operator NHN left the secondary Kosdaq, which it had long dominated, for the larger Kospi index at the end of last year, it left a vacuum to be filled.
More than three months later, a new steady leader of the tech-heavy Kosdaq has yet to emerge.
Celltrion, Taewoong and Seoul Semiconductor are in a close three-way race to become market cap leader on the junior index. Competition has been so tight over the past few days that the three companies have sometimes swapped positions several times in a single day.
Celltrion, a biopharmaceutical manufacturing company, kept the No. 1 position for the second straight day yesterday, as it surged 1,200 won ($0.77), or 8.3 percent, closing at 15,700 won. Its market cap rose to 1.67 trillion won.
But its two competitors refused to sit back and let their rival rise alone. Taewoong, a wind generator part maker, rose 6,000 won, or 6.8 percent, to 94,000 won, bringing up its total share market value to 1.56 trillion won.
Seoul Semiconductor, a light-emitting diode manufacturer, advanced 900 won, or 3.3 percent, to 27,850 won, with its market cap reaching 1.42 trillion won. The index for the day was up 3.7 percent, rising 13.55 to 378.73 points.
Analysts say the three companies’ market caps are so close that the rankings could continue to change over the next few days.
Until the middle of last month, Taewoong was most often atop the leaderboard after NHN, the operator of the nation’s most popular portal site Naver, moved to the main Kospi stock market at the end of November.
Celltrion, rising fast on the back of growing investor interest in biopharmaceutical stocks, crept past Taewoong into the No. 1 spot on Feb. 18 and stayed there until Taewoong recaptured the crown on Feb. 25.
But Celltrion shot back into the top spot six trading days later, on March 4. The next day, Taewoong resurged, but Celltrion returned to the top on Friday.
Meanwhile, Seoul Semiconductor rose for the eighth day in a row yesterday, sometimes passing Taewoong during midday trading.
“The three companies are enjoying momentum, all formed against similar backdrops, so the tight competition will likely continue for the time being,” said Yun Lee, an analyst with Woori Investment and Securities.
Taewoong and Seoul Semiconductor are among the stocks expected to benefit from the so-called Green New Deal, a set of policies the Lee Myung-bak administration recently announced to foster pro-environment industries.
Celltrion is being boosted, in the most part, by the move by the Barack Obama administration in the U.S. to loosen regulations on research activities in the pharmaceutical industry.
All the three stocks are being recommended by many analysts, citing their fundamentals, backed by government support.
The strong performances of the three, which made up 8.6 percent of the Kosdaq in terms of market cap, boosted the index as a whole.
The Kosdaq has risen 13 percent this year, while the Kospi has fallen 8.6 percent.
By Moon Gwang-lip Staff Reporter [joe@joongang.co.kr]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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