(Jan 26): South Korea’s small-cap stock index soared to the highest in more than four years and outperformed the benchmark Kospi Index by the most since 2000, in a sign that enthusiasm towards the country’s shares is broadening.
The Kosdaq Index jumped as much as 6.9%. Moves in futures earlier triggered Korea Exchange’s so-called “sidecar” rule — which halts programme trading for five minutes to help tamp down volatility. While the Kospi started the day higher, it slipped as much as 0.9% as momentum waned since it hit the historic 5,000 milestone last week.
Retail investors piled into higher-risk leveraged bets. Samsung Kodex KOSDAQ150 Leverage ETF, an exchange-traded fund offering two-times exposure to the Kosdaq 150 Index, jumped as much as 23%.
Also, a Korea Financial Investment Association website offering online training — mandatory before such trades can be implemented — crashed on Monday.
Uploaded by Chng Shear Lane
