Seohak Ants Surge in Buying U Stocks During Chuseok Holiday While Domestic Market Closes
During the Chuseok holiday, active investment by domestic investors, often referred to as “Seohak ants,” heavily targeted U.S. technology stocks. However, this surge in buying activity coincided with significant market downturns in the U.S., leading to notable losses for these investors.
Market Conditions During Chuseok
The domestic stock market was closed during this period, from October 3rd to 10th, 2023, while the U.S. market reacted negatively. On October 10th, concerns regarding the U.S.-China trade relationship, fueled by remarks from former President Donald Trump, caused a sharp decline in stock values.
Key Investments and Performance
- Seohak ants bought U.S. stocks worth approximately $1.39 billion during the holiday.
- This was a 20.09% increase in net purchases compared to the previous six trading days ($1.16 billion).
- The most significant purchase was TSLL, a leveraged ETF linked to Tesla, totaling $167.48 million.
- TSLL experienced a drastic drop of 10.24% on October 10th.
- BMNU, tied to Bitcoin mining, saw net purchases of around 1.1 trillion won but plunged 21.84% over ten days.
Impact of Trump’s Remarks
Trump’s statements on social media platforms raised the prospect of increased tariffs on Chinese goods and additional controls on software exports, leading to a $400 billion loss in the virtual asset market capitalization.
Performance of Key Stocks
Most of the top net bought stocks underperformed during this period. Seven out of the ten highest net purchases declined significantly. The following notable stocks were affected:
- TSLA (Tesla): -10.24%
- Irene: -6.39%
- Meta: -3.85%
- Palantir: -5.41%
- Nvidia: -4.89%
- BMNU: -21.84%
Stocks That Outperformed
Despite widespread declines, a few stocks experienced gains:
- IONZ (linked to IONQ): +17.18%
- Fermi (AI infrastructure): +8.63%
- GLD (gold spot ETF): +1.01%
In summary, while Seohak ants showed strong interest in U.S. stocks during the Chuseok holiday, they faced a challenging market environment that led to significant losses, highlighting the risks associated with leveraged investing amid market volatility.
