Traders use smartphones to tap stocks

Online stock trading surged to a record high in Korea last year as more investors relied on their smartphones and other online devices to buy and sell, data showed yesterday.

The value of stocks traded online reached 2,468 trillion won ($2.19 trillion) in 2011, up 18.3 percent from 2,086 trillion won a year earlier, according to the Korea Exchange (KRX).

Online stock trading refers to buying or selling shares using fixed-line phones, smartphones, personal digital assistants or an online home trading system, the KRX said.

The amount of online stock trading in Asia’s fourth-largest economy soared to 1,926 trillion won in 2007 from 737 trillion won three years earlier, before it slipped to 1,588 trillion won in 2008 in the wake of the financial crisis.

Last year’s surge was attributed to the growing popularity of smart devices among Korean retail investors. Cheaper fees for online trading by local brokerages also contributed to the jump, sources said.

“More than 30 percent of retail investors’ online contracts were traded via smartphones,” said a spokesman for Mirae Asset Securities.

Yonhap