In July, the "Heart of the Beast" Smiled... 9 out of the Top 10 ETF Returns Were 'Leverage'

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Hwang Yoon-joo] Among the top 10 performing exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in July, 9 were leveraged products.

According to the Korea Exchange on the 31st, the top-performing ETF in July was 'TIGER US Philadelphia Semiconductor Leverage (Synthetic)', which recorded a +31.00% return.

The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index rose 20.6% over the month, from 2458.5 on July 1 to 2967.1 on July 29. Although the index had recently plunged due to a downturn in the semiconductor industry, it surged following the passage of the Semiconductor Support Act by the US government, which aims to foster the semiconductor industry as an economic countermeasure against China.

Specifically, the legislation includes various supports such as investment tax credits and international security communications for companies building semiconductor manufacturing plants in the US. The support scale is expected to reach $52 billion, approximately 68 trillion KRW. This has led to expanded investor sentiment based on expectations that the semiconductor sector will benefit.

Following this, TIGER US Nasdaq 100 Leverage (Synthetic) rose +24.85%, KODEX US Nasdaq 100 Leverage (Synthetic H) +24.51%, KOSEF KOSDAQ 150 Futures Leverage 19.19%, and KBSTAR KOSDAQ 150 Futures Leverage +19.08% showed high growth rates.

Notably, Nasdaq 100 Leverage and KOSDAQ 150 Leverage stocks dominated the top ranks.

Ahead of the July Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting, expectations of a 75 basis points (1bp=0.01 percentage point) rate hike and positive second-quarter earnings from IT companies such as Apple contributed to a rebound in the Nasdaq index throughout July. The Nasdaq index rose 12.4% over the month.

Although the Korean stock market did not match the US market's performance, the KOSDAQ stood out. The KOSDAQ index rose 7.09% in July, while the KOSPI's increase was limited to 4.40% during the same period.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.