J.P. Morgan: Korean Leveraged ETF Unwinding Nears End

On July 29, J.P. Morgan stated that the large-scale deleveraging experienced by the South Korean stock market since mid-June indicates that the unwinding of leveraged ETFs has largely been completed, with hedge funds having executed about 90% of the deleveraging process and leverage levels having fallen back to a more reasonable range. J.P. Morgan strategists, including Mixo Das, wrote in a report that, taken together, the current positioning in the South Korean stock market is quite attractive, with low valuations and strong earnings growth momentum. "With the market correction, the scale of such funds has now dropped to $17 billion," the report said, noting that the rapid inflow of funds into leveraged ETFs has notably slowed in recent days. However, the recent plunge in stock prices could still trigger further deleveraging in the coming days. At the same time, many investors remain cautious given the risk of a rate hike at the Federal Open Market Committee meeting and high expectations for upcoming earnings reports from mega-cap tech companies.