The American stocks heavily invested in by foreign individual investors, known as "Seo-hakgaemi," are entering a loss zone one after another. This is due to a combination of concerns about the tariff policies of the Donald Trump administration and worries about consumer recession affecting the stocks favored by these investors.
KODEX American Seo-hakgaemi traded at 16,925 won at 9:40 a.m. on the KOSPI on the 26th. The stock price dropped by 2.76% (480 won) compared to the previous day. This marks the sixth consecutive trading day of declines.
Among the investors linked with Naver Pay "My Assets" holding KODEX American Seo-hakgaemi, the average purchase price of 5,912 individuals is 18,787 won. Since the 24th, the stock price has been below the average purchase price. The proportion of loss investors is also close to 40%. For investors who purchased KODEX American Seo-hakgaemi ETF through NH Investment & Securities, the proportion of loss investors exceeded 90% as of the 24th.
KODEX American Seo-hakgaemi ETF is based on the top 25 stocks by custodial balance among those listed on the U.S. stock market. The largest investment weight is held by NVIDIA (23.14%), followed by Tesla (17.68%), Apple (10.1%), Palantir (6.39%), Microsoft (6.34%), and Alphabet (4.91%). Last year, excluding leverage ETFs, it recorded the highest revenue and gained popularity, but has fallen by about 13% this year.
ACE American Stock Bestseller is no different. At the same time, the ACE American Stock Bestseller stock fell by 2.91% (490 won) to 16,335 won, compared to the previous day. ACE American Stock Bestseller has also been on a downward trend for five consecutive trading days. The average purchase price of 1,174 investors linked with Naver Pay is 17,360 won, entering a negative range since the previous day.
ACE American Stock Bestseller is also an ETF that incorporates U.S. stocks heavily invested by domestic investors. The largest percentage is Tesla at 19.8%, followed by Palantir at 17.2%, Broadcom at 16.1%, Alphabet at 14.3%, and Amazon at 12.1%.
Both ETFs saw their stock price drop further as Tesla, which has a large holding, plummeted more than 8% overnight. This was significantly influenced by Tesla's sales in Europe last month, which were halved compared to the same period last year. Palantir, which was referred to as a "defense stock" linked to artificial intelligence, has also been struggling since concerns over defense budget cuts emerged.
Additionally, investors interpreted the news that Microsoft terminated contracts for two data centers as a reduction in capital expenditure (CAPEX), leading them to sell off AI-related stocks, resulting in declines for NVIDIA, Broadcom, and others.
The biggest problem is the recently released consumer indicators. The February preliminary Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) for U.S. services from Standard & Poor's Global, the finalized Michigan University February Consumer Sentiment Index, and the February Consumer Confidence Index from the Conference Board all fell below market expectations. The "fear of recession (R)" has increased, raising risk-averse sentiment.
As the entire big tech sector favored by Seo-hakgaemi experiences turmoil, the argument for the collective intelligence power that KODEX American Seo-hakgaemi and ACE American Stock Bestseller had put forth has also lost its color.
NVIDIA's earnings report for the fourth quarter of the 2025 fiscal year (November 2024 - January 2025), which is expected to be released in the early hours of the 27th Korean time, is predicted to set the short-term direction of the market. The market predicts NVIDIA will report an earnings per share (EPS) of $0.845. Whether NVIDIA can achieve its earnings surprise for the eighth consecutive quarter since 2023 and provide optimistic guidance for the 2026 fiscal year will be crucial.
On the night of the 28th, the U.S. Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) for January will also be announced. PCE is an important price indicator that the Federal Reserve, the central bank of the United States, closely monitors when deciding on interest rates.
Kim Seong-hwan, a researcher at Shinhan Investment & Securities, noted that "the U.S. stocks that have established themselves as the leading stocks in the global stock market over the past two years are now in a phase of temporarily retreating to the second tier" and emphasized that "it will be possible to aim for a recovery of leadership until April, when the earnings announcements occur in the first quarter of this year."