Employees hold a celebratory ceremony at the dealing room of Hana Bank’s headquarters in Jung-gu, Seoul, on the 26th, the day the Kospi closed above the 8,000 mark for the first time. The Kospi ended the session at 8,047.51, up 199.80 points (2.55%) from the previous trading day. By Cho Tae-hyung
Single-stock leverage exchange-traded funds (ETFs) tracking Samsung Electronics (005930.KS) and SK hynix (000660.KS) attracted nearly 2 trillion won in trading volume within 45 minutes of market opening on their debut.
According to the Korea Exchange on Monday, among the Samsung Electronics and SK hynix single-stock leverage ETFs that debuted on Saturday, the KODEX SK hynix Single-Stock Leverage ETF recorded the highest trading volume. As of 9:45 a.m. that day, its trading volume reached approximately 780 billion won.
The TIGER SK hynix Single-Stock Leverage ETF also drew concentrated investor capital with about 520 billion won in trades. Both products posted returns of around 20%.
Leverage ETFs based on Samsung Electronics also drew strong interest. At the same time, the KODEX Samsung Electronics Single-Stock Leverage ETF recorded approximately 300 billion won in trading volume, while the TIGER Samsung Electronics Single-Stock Leverage ETF logged about 260 billion won. Returns were around 14%.
Buying also flowed into other single-stock leverage ETFs, including ACE-branded products, spreading the investment fervor. Combined trading volume of major products approached 2 trillion won.
Behind the success of these single-stock leverage ETFs lies a sharp rally in semiconductor stocks.
The day before listing, on Thursday (local time) in the U.S. market, memory chipmaker Micron Technology surged more than 19% on the back of an aggressive price-target hike from UBS. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index also rose more than 5%, lifting global semiconductor investor sentiment.
Riding that momentum, Samsung Electronics and SK hynix both hit fresh record highs on the day of listing. Samsung Electronics climbed to as high as 323,000 won during the session, gaining more than 8%, while SK hynix soared to 2.279 million won intraday, posting a gain of more than 11%. The KOSPI also rose to as high as 8,450.26 at one point that day, breaking through the 8,400 level for the first time ever.
Industry observers say the listing of single-stock leverage ETFs is further fueling the concentration of capital into semiconductor heavyweights such as Samsung Electronics and SK hynix.
With expanding artificial intelligence (AI) demand combining with an improving memory chip cycle, expectations for a so-called “semiconductor supercycle” have reached a peak. Aggressive retail investors seeking quick, high returns are shifting in droves from regular stocks to leverage ETFs that track double the volatility of the underlying asset.
Securities analysts forecast that the semiconductor-led concentration in the market and active trading of single-stock leverage ETFs will continue for the time being.
However, because leverage ETFs are structured to follow twice the price movement of the underlying asset, returns expand in rising markets but losses can also grow significantly in declining markets. Experts advised a cautious approach that takes into account the high short-term volatility of these products.