Movement Alert｜iShares MSCI South Korea ETF Rises 5.14% in Regular Trading, Korean Finance Minister Pledges to Improve Market Structure and Stability

On August 4, iShares MSCI South Korea ETF rose 5.14% in regular trading, trading at $168.115/share, with turnover of $737 million.

On the news front, Korean Finance Minister Koo Yun Cheol stated at a cabinet meeting that the government will commit to improving the structural stability of the Korean stock market and will accelerate the implementation of recently announced ETF-related measures, including restrictions on single-stock leveraged ETF usage. The minister had earlier apologized for the hasty introduction of single-stock leveraged ETFs without sufficient deliberation.

The rally comes as market participants assess that Korea's deleveraging process may be nearing its end. Some foreign investors have reportedly begun closing short positions and even initiated bottom-fishing activity. Trading volumes in Korea's largest single-stock leveraged ETFs have dropped to multi-month lows following regulatory tightening measures. Additionally, easing US-Iran geopolitical tensions and cooling inflation data provided further tailwinds for risk sentiment.

The KOSPI index itself recovered on the day, closing up 1.62% at 6,358.95 after being down more than 2% intraday, following a period of extreme volatility that saw multiple circuit breakers triggered in late July.

(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.)