Updated
Updated · yardeniquicktakes.com · Aug 17
South Korea's KOSPI Rebounds 20% From July Low as Go Global Trade Revives
Updated
Updated · yardeniquicktakes.com · Aug 17

South Korea's KOSPI Rebounds 20% From July Low as Go Global Trade Revives

3 articles · Updated · yardeniquicktakes.com · Aug 17

Summary

  • More than 20% above its July 30 closing low, South Korea’s KOSPI has become the clearest sign that the July selloff in AI-linked markets has reversed.
  • That rebound follows a near-40% plunge from the June peak, when leveraged single-stock ETF unwinds, retail margin calls and a regulatory halt to new listings crushed the market.
  • Korea’s fundamentals have also strengthened: forward earnings have quintupled in a year, and its forward profit margin now leads emerging markets.
  • Month to date, South Korea’s country ETF is up 14.4% in dollar terms, ahead of Taiwan’s 10.9% and Japan’s 6.3%, while the US remains up 13.8% for the year.
  • The move fits a broader revival in the “Go Global” trade, with US-versus-rest-of-world valuation ratios still below their long-term uptrends despite the recent bounce.

Insights

South Korea’s market soared 84% this year, but with looming memory-chip oversupply, is this AI-fueled miracle actually a ticking time bomb?
Could the sudden regulatory halt on leveraged ETFs accidentally trigger the next massive AI market crash instead of preventing it?
As historic currency interventions unfold, will the unstoppable AI semiconductor boom finally break under the weight of shifting global yields?