Korean retail investors are making aggressive bets on the recovery of the memory chip sector: net purchases of US memory ETFs reach KRW 118.5 billion in a single week

According to data from the Korea Securities Depository, Korean retail investors recorded net purchases of approximately USD 85.61 million (about KRW 118.5 billion) in the "Roundhill Memory ETF" during the period from August 14 to 20 this week, making it the second-largest product by net purchase value among the country's overseas stock and ETF investments (second only to Google's parent company Alphabet). This ETF is an actively managed product that primarily invests in major memory chip companies such as Samsung Electronics, SK Hynix, and Micron.

Recently, memory chip stocks have shown a clear rebound. From August 10 to 21, SK Hynix and Samsung Electronics' stock prices rose by 21.6% and 21.8%, respectively, both surpassing the 10.4% gain of the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) during the same period. In the US market, Micron rose approximately 11% during the same period, while SanDisk gained about 32%.

Korea's domestic ETF market has also seen capital inflows. Data shows that from August 14 to 20, the "TIGER US S&P500 ETF," which tracks the S&P 500 Index, recorded net inflows of KRW 170.9 billion, while the "KODEX US Nasdaq 100 ETF," which tracks the Nasdaq 100 Index, saw net inflows of KRW 132.3 billion. Market observers believe that as expectations for a semiconductor cycle recovery strengthen, investors are increasing their allocations to the AI chip and memory chip supply chain. (Daum)