Many stocks that rose in the KRX aftermarket continued their upward trend into the early hours of the next trading day, but relatively few maintained their gains by the end of regular trading. With stock trading now available until 8 p.m., 'after-hours investing' has become more prevalent, leading to a reevaluation of prices the following day.
Analyzing 10 major cases of nighttime gains from the aftermarket opening on September 14 to September 23, based on publicly available prices, it was found that in six cases (60%), the opening price the next trading day was higher than the final aftermarket price. The average return for those who bought at 8 p.m. and sold at the next day's opening was 0.36%, with a median of 0.68%.
However, only three cases (30%) maintained their upward trend until the closing price. The average return from the 8 p.m. price to the next day's closing was -3.73%, with a median of -4.19%. This indicates that even if nighttime gains continued into the early hours of the next day, many stocks surrendered those gains during regular trading.
One notable example is Encell. On September 18, Encell's regular trading close was 6,620 won, and its final aftermarket price rose to 6,820 won, an increase of 3.02%. The next trading day, it opened at 6,830 won but closed at 5,970 won. Compared to the 8 p.m. purchase price, the opening return was 0.15%, but it flipped to -12.46% based on the closing price.
Similar trends were observed with Neosapience and Sands Lab. Neosapience's final aftermarket price on September 21 was 36,900 won, and it opened the next day at 37,350 won, a 1.22% increase, but closed at 29,800 won, resulting in a closing return of -19.24%. Sands Lab also saw its final aftermarket price at 7,160 won, opening the next day at 7,500 won, a 4.75% increase, but closing at 6,700 won, leading to a closing return of -6.42%.
The aftermarket is quickly gaining traction among individual investors. According to the KRX, the average daily trading volume during its first week, from September 14 to 18, was 11 trillion won, with individual investors accounting for 90.4% of the trading volume. Actual trades occurred in 2,379 of the 2,763 listed stocks (86.1%).
A securities industry official stated, "The aftermarket has stocks with limited participants and liquidity compared to regular trading, making it difficult to predict the next day's direction based solely on nighttime price movements. In regular trading, the supply and demand from various investors are newly reflected, so it is essential to consider not only the nighttime gains but also trading volume and value."
* This article has been translated by AI.
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