How Did the Recent Deleveraging in South Korea's Stock Market Unfold? A Comprehensive Review

The Korean stock market underwent a sharp deleveraging episode triggered by leveraged products between the end of June and July 2026. The core issue lay in the fact that Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix together accounted for more than half of the KOSPI’s market capitalization, and the single-stock 2x leveraged ETFs were heavily concentrated in these two stocks, creating structural leverage within the index.

PANewsJul 20 11:42

AI-driven trading faces "leverage blowback," with South Korea becoming the world's first stress test case

South Korea's KOSPI index plunged 4.5% on Monday, breaking through key support levels one after another. Previously overcrowded leveraged positions and options exposures—such as the SK Hynix call/put ratio, which had reached as high as 27 times—are now amplifying the downturn in reverse. Market-maker hedging has triggered mechanical selling pressure. Goldman Sachs views this correction as liquidity-driven portfolio rebalancing rather than a reversal of the AI investment thesis, but market volatility risks remain elevated until deleveraging is complete.

wallstreetcn11minutes ago

Global Macro Cycle Far From Peaking - Morgan Stanley

Seeking Alpha45minutes ago

Express News | Samsung is expanding its collaboration with NVIDIA, whose Rubin CMX system has NAND storage requirements roughly equivalent to those of Apple.

BreakingsJul 20 19:28

South Korean brokerage Meritz: Middle Eastern sovereign AI funds are entering the market to purchase domestic memory chips; Kimi K3 is a positive catalyst, not a disruption.

Middle Eastern sovereign AI funds have officially entered the memory procurement market, reshaping supply-demand dynamics and accelerating price increases. Meanwhile, the recent release of the Kimi K3 model—widely discussed in AI circles—has been interpreted by Korean brokerages as a medium-term positive for AI hardware, rather than the demand shock feared by the market.

wallstreetcnJul 20 17:39

Will in-house CXL development undermine their own DRAM business? Samsung, SK Hynix, and Micron simultaneously abandon in-house CXL controller development.

The world’s three leading memory manufacturers—Samsung, SK Hynix, and Micron—have completely halted in-house development of CXL (Compute Express Link) controllers and shifted to procuring controller designs from external chip design firms. This strategic move stems from concerns that integrated in-house solutions could erode their core DRAM module business, as customers prefer purchasing components separately to maintain flexibility. Following this realignment of roles, specialized firms such as Astera Labs and Montage Technology now lead controller design, while memory manufacturers focus on manufacturing and advanced DRAM technologies.

wallstreetcnJul 20 16:41