South Korean Retail Investors Net Purchase $19.48B in U.S. Stocks Through July 20, Yet Holdings Value Falls to $177.3B

According to the Korea Securities Depository and the financial investment industry, South Korean retail investors net purchased $1.948 billion in U.S. stocks from early July through July 20, continuing a second consecutive month of net purchases and marking a threefold increase from June's $633 million. However, the total custodial value of their U.S. stock holdings declined to $177.3 billion as of July 17, down from $204.2 billion at the end of May and $194.8 billion at the end of June.

Retail investors remain heavily concentrated in U.S. technology and semiconductor stocks including Tesla, Nvidia, Google, Apple, Micron, and TSMC ADR. These holdings have experienced significant volatility in recent weeks, with Tesla falling from a monthly high of $425.30 to $369.57 on July 20, Nvidia declining from $212.50 to $203.28, and Micron dropping from above $1,200 to the $860 range. Securities industry analysts attribute the decline in holdings value to global semiconductor peak-out concerns and elevated market volatility affecting both U.S. and domestic tech stocks.