After the release of Gemini 3, Korean retail investors trading U.S. stocks, who had been buying Alphabet shares, now appear to be adding an exchange-traded fund (ETF) that triples the semiconductor index. In particular, Korean retail investors trading U.S. stocks are estimated to have bought the dip even as anxiety over an artificial intelligence (AI) "bubble" sparked by Oracle grew.
According to the Korea Securities Depository (KSD) securities information portal SEIBro on the 26th, the overseas stock most net bought by domestic individual investors over the past week (Dec. 16–25) was the "Direxion Daily Semiconductor Bull 3X ETF (SOXL)." Korean retail investors trading U.S. stocks purchased about $230.37 million (about 333.1 billion won) of this product, which triples the Philadelphia semiconductor index. Broadcom, a U.S. semiconductor corporation, also ranked high with net buying of $140.36 million (about 202.9 billion won).
This contrasts with the trend in early December, when the focus was on Alphabet. Earlier, investors bought about $499.42 million of Alphabet Class A over two weeks in early December on expectations for the next-generation AI model "Gemini 3." But recently, as Oracle's results fell short of market expectations, an "AI bubble" narrative spread that AI-related investments may be difficult to translate into actual profits.
Semiconductor-related stocks wobbled under the impact. The Direxion Daily Semiconductor Bull 3X ETF fell 27% from the 11th to the 17th. Broadcom also dropped 21% over the same period. However, individual investors instead took this period as a buying-the-dip opportunity. They bet on the belief that AI-related stocks will grow next year as well.
In the securities industry, there are also comments that concerns over an AI bubble are excessive. Park Yun-cheol, a researcher at iM Securities, said, "Worrying about an AI bubble collapse seems premature, as national-level support continues, and AI-related corporations that have suffered oversized declines still appear to have buy-the-dip merit."
Lee Eun-taek, a researcher at KB Securities, said, "AI-related stocks that had been sluggish since November are showing a sharp rise," adding, "The reason the stock market was weak was not the AI bubble narrative but concerns about a tightening currency policy."
There were concerns in the market that currency policy would tighten, but those worries eased with the release of the core consumer price index (CPI). The researcher analyzed, "In the first quarter, concerns about inflation will likely ease further, leaving room for AI-related stocks to add momentum."