Korean retail investors trading U.S. stocks rushed to buy SpaceX in large net purchases immediately after its initial public offering (IPO), the biggest on record, but when the share price fell, they sold SpaceX and shifted their funds back to the semiconductor sector.
On the 28th, according to the Korea Securities Depository (KSD), the stock that individual investors net bought the most on the U.S. market last week (from the 22nd to the 26th) was "Soxl" (DIREXION DAILY SEMICONDUCTORS BULL 3X SHS ETF), which triples the performance of the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index. During the period, Korean retail investors trading U.S. stocks net bought $627.67 million (about 963.9 billion won) of the ETF.
Next, the stock that drew the most funds from Korean retail investors trading U.S. stocks was the semiconductor corporation Micron, with $301.25 million in net purchases. The Roundhill Memory ETF, which holds Samsung Electronics and SK hynix in its portfolio ($208.49 million), and Intel ($134.06 million) followed. In effect, Korean retail investors trading U.S. stocks concentrated heavily on semiconductors.
Until just a week earlier, funds from Korean retail investors trading U.S. stocks had focused on SpaceX, which debuted on the Nasdaq on the 12th. From the 12th, the day SpaceX listed, to the 22nd, domestic individual investors net bought $1.9496 billion of SpaceX. It ranked first in total net purchases of overseas stocks during the period.
But sentiment shifted as the share price plunged. SpaceX entered the market at an offer price of $135 and jumped 19% on listing day, then rose again on the 15th–16th to break above $200. After that, however, the price slumped, dropping to $153 on the 26th.
Investor sentiment weakened sharply when SpaceX, despite raising massive funds through the listing, also announced plans to issue corporate bonds.
As SpaceX shares plunged, investors sold the stock and moved back into semiconductor names. In particular, after Micron on the 23rd reported results and guidance that beat market expectations, investment funds flowed en masse into the semiconductor sector.