South Korean Retail Investors Surge US Stock Purchases to $2.596B in July, 4x June Volumes

According to Korea Securities Depository Savero, South Korean retail investors' net purchase settlements for U.S. stocks reached $2.596 billion from July 1-24, approximately four times the $633 million recorded in June. The surge follows two consecutive months of net selling in April and May.

The shift reflects domestic market volatility: KOSPI and KOSDAQ fell 21% and 18% respectively this month, with circuit breakers and trading halts triggered 13 times across the period. Market analysts attribute the reallocation to semiconductor sector concerns, reduced currency conversion costs as the won strengthened to 1,460 per dollar, and growing investor preference for U.S. benchmark indexes. Overseas stock ETFs saw net asset inflows of 260 billion won this month, while domestic stock ETFs declined 4.115 trillion won.