South Korean Investors Pour $4.5 Billion Into U.S. Stocks as AI Bets Shift Abroad
Updated
Updated · CNBC · Aug 17
South Korean Investors Pour $4.5 Billion Into U.S. Stocks as AI Bets Shift Abroad
2 articles · Updated · CNBC · Aug 17
Summary
$4.5 billion of net July buying by South Korean retail investors marked a sharp jump from June, as they sold local shares through most of last week despite the Kospi returning to bull-market territory.
$840 million went into SK Hynix ADRs alone, making the U.S.-listed receipts the second most-bought security even though the same stock trades in Seoul; the ADRs recently carried about a 10% premium.
Leveraged products dominated the flow: four of July's 10 most net-purchased U.S. securities were leveraged ETFs, led by Direxion Daily Semiconductor Bull 3X Shares, with ProShares UltraPro QQQ and Ultra QQQ also ranking highly.
Analysts said the move looks less like risk reduction than a venue switch, with traders keeping exposure to the same AI-hardware theme after losses in Korean semiconductor shares and local leveraged ETFs.
Margin debt in Korea fell from about 37 trillion won at end-June to 27 trillion won earlier this month, while strategists said the U.S. market is too large for Korean retail flows to move broadly, though niche names could see distortions.