South Korean investors spent their weeklong Chuseok holiday from Oct. 3 to 9 chasing risk rather than rest, splurging $1.24 billion on US tech and crypto assets while local markets were closed, according to data from the Korea Securities Depository on Sunday.
Their purchases centered on high-octane bets tied to US tech and crypto-linked assets, underscoring the country’s enduring appetite for volatility.
The most popular pick was the Direxion Daily Tesla Bull 2X ETF, which doubles exposure to Tesla Inc.’s share price, with net purchases reaching about $151 million.
Investors also snapped up roughly $105 million worth of shares in Iris Energy Ltd., an Australian Bitcoin mining company.
Another leveraged crypto play, the T-REX 2X Long BMNR Daily Target ETF, which is designed to deliver twice the daily performance of Bitcoin miner Bitmine Immersion Technologies Inc., ranked among their top five buys with around $95 million in net purchases.
The overseas buying spree came on the heels of a record-breaking run in Seoul stocks, where the Kospi Index hit fresh highs before the holiday on optimism over US tech strength and domestic stimulus measures.
With local markets shut, bullish sentiment appeared to spill into Wall Street, and Korean retail investors were quick to chase the rally, said market analysts.
Whether those bets pay off is, however, another matter.
The buying burst landed just before global markets slumped on Friday amid escalating US-China trade tensions.
Whether Korean retail investors can keep up their appetite for high-octane, high-risk trades remains uncertain, analysts said.
The Kospi opened 1.7% lower on Monday, erasing much of Friday’s rally above the 3,600 mark.
By Jeong-Cheol Bae
bjc@hankyung.com
Sookyung Seo edited this article.
