KOSPI Plunges 10.84%, Retail Investors Net Buy 1.0996 Trillion Won in Leveraged ETFs Yesterday

According to Korea Securities Depository, KOSPI plunged 10.84% (732.09 points) yesterday (July 28), with the semiconductor sector leading losses. Retail investors capitalized on the selloff by making net purchases of approximately 1.0996 trillion Korean won in leveraged ETFs, accounting for 25.48% of total retail net inflows in equities that day.

The KODEX SK Hynix Single Stock Leverage ETF saw the highest retail net buying at 420 billion won, followed by KODEX KOSDAQ 150 Leverage at 233.2 billion won. Meanwhile, retail investors realized gains in inverse ETFs, net selling the KODEX KOSPI 200 Futures Inverse 2X for 144.6 billion won. According to Citi, leveraged ETF holdings have declined from a peak of 52.5 billion dollars on July 22 to 19 billion dollars currently, despite ongoing new inflows suggesting estimated cumulative losses of approximately 38.7 billion dollars for retail investors.