During the Chuseok holiday, which coincided with the closure of the domestic stock market, Korean investors, often referred to as “Seohak ants,” actively participated in the U.S. technology and cryptocurrency sectors but faced significant losses. This downturn occurred as the U.S. stock market and the cryptocurrency landscape experienced sharp declines on October 10, following U.S. President Donald Trump’s alarming comments about a possible resurgence of the U.S.-China trade conflict.
Data from the Korea Securities Depository on October 13 revealed that the top net purchase among overseas stocks by domestic investors during the period from October 3 to 10 was TSLL, amounting to $167.48 million. TSLL is known for mirroring the fluctuations of Tesla, a leading global electric vehicle manufacturer. On October 10 alone, TSLL plummeted by 10.24%, primarily due to a more than 5% drop in Tesla’s stock in response to Trump’s hardline remarks, which included threats of imposing an additional 100% tariff on China and introducing export controls on vital software to the country.
Another notable investment was in BMNU, a stock that tracks the performance of BitMine, a Bitcoin mining company. Domestic investors made a net purchase of 1104.7 billion won in BMNU during this timeframe, but the stock saw a staggering 21.84% decline over the 10-day period. The repercussions of Trump’s comments significantly impacted the virtual asset market, resulting in a loss of approximately $400 billion in market capitalization.
Overall, domestic investors net purchased a total of $1.38867 billion in U.S. stocks, predominantly focusing on technology and cryptocurrency stocks, which was a 20.09% increase from the previous six trading days. However, the majority of these top purchasing stocks underwent declines. Among the top ten net buys, heavily weighted towards artificial intelligence (AI) and cryptocurrencies, seven experienced drops, including major players like TSLA, Irene, and Nvidia. The only stocks to see gains during this period were IONZ, tracking quantum computing company IONQ with a 17.18% rise; Fermi, an AI infrastructure entity recently listed on Nasdaq, which went up by 8.63%; and GLD, a gold spot ETF, which saw a modest increase of 1.01%.
Despite the setbacks, the enthusiasm shown by Seohak ants indicates a resilient interest in emerging technologies and the dynamic landscape of U.S. markets. This trend reflects a broader engagement of domestic investors in global opportunities, even in the face of volatility.