More retail investors opt for US stocks amid stagnant domestic market

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By Lee Kyung-min

Korean retail investors' holdings in U.S. stocks exceeded $100 billion (141 trillion won), fueled by a rally in the world's top equity market amid domestic market stagnation.

Further propelling the investor exodus is the victory of Donald Trump, whose "America First" mandate is expected to lead to stronger earnings for U.S. firms.

According to Korea Securities Depository (KSD) data, the combined holdings of Korean retail investors in U.S. stocks reached $101.37 billion on Thursday.

It was the highest figure since the depository service provider began compiling related data in January 2011.

Thursday's figure is over 10 trillion won, up from $91 billion on Oct. 31. The surge was powered in part by Trump's pledge on large corporate tax cuts. Also at play was a 0.25-percent interest rate cut by the U.S. Federal Reserve last week, reinforcing risk-on investor sentiment toward previously shunned risky asset classes.

The figures contrast with the downtick in the domestic holdings of investment funds, as measured by the total brokerage account deposits.

The KSD data showed that the funds came to about 49.6 trillion won on Oct. 30, the lowest level since January.

It was the first time the figure dipped below 50 trillion won since Jan. 26.

Meanwhile, Tesla remains the most popular go-to for retail investors. About $16.7 billion worth of Tesla shares were held by them, followed by Nvidia ($13.8 billion), Apple ($4.6 billion) and Microsoft ($3.6 billion).

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