On June 25, iShares MSCI Korea ETF (EWY) rose 6.71% overnight, trading at $208.9/share, with turnover of $19.06 million. The sharp rebound follows a dramatic crash on June 23 when the KOSPI index plunged over 8% and triggered a circuit breaker, halting trading for 20 minutes.
The recovery was primarily ignited by Samsung Electronics announcing a share buyback program of approximately 90 trillion Korean won, which sent Samsung shares up as much as 10% intraday on June 24, nearly erasing the prior session's losses. SK Hynix also rebounded nearly 6%. On June 25, KOSPI opened up 2.7% at 8,703.42 points, extending the recovery momentum.
The prior crash was triggered by a confluence of factors: Korean regulators sharply criticized leveraged single-stock ETFs tracking Samsung and SK Hynix, warning of systemic risks from products where 92% of holders are retail investors. Algorithmic selling and mechanical rebalancing of leveraged ETFs — estimated at $6 billion — amplified the selloff. MSCI's refusal to add Korea to its developed market watchlist and central bank rate-hike signals further pressured sentiment.
The fund generally invests at least 80% of its assets in the component securities of its underlying index, designed to measure the performance of the large- and mid-capitalization segments of the Korean equity market.
(The above content is based on publicly available market information, generated by a program or algorithm, and is intended solely as a stock movement alert. It does not constitute investment advice or a basis for trading decisions.)
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