South Korean investors bet big on US stocks, ‘Trumponomics 2.0’

Seoul: Investors are pouring a large amount of money into funds that invest in U.S. stocks on hopes that President Donald Trump’s “America First” policy would help further boost the U.S. stock market, data showed on Tuesday.

According to the data from market tracker FnGuide, 167 funds that invest in U.S. stocks had 23.34 trillion won ($16.24 billion) under management as of January 21, up 1.29 trillion won from the end of last year.

Massive money inflows into such funds come as the U.S. economy is anticipated to continue its bullish run, with the Trump administration widely expected to implement policies aimed at making the world’s largest economy stronger.

Last year, local investors reaped decent gains from investments in U.S. stocks.

The U.S. stocks-focused funds delivered an average 34.1 per cent return last year.

In 2024, the Standard & Poor’s 500 index soared 23.3 per cent, and the tech-savvy Nasdaq index jumped 28.6 per cent.

In contrast, domestic stock-focused investment funds saw some 100 billion won in outflow. The country’s benchmark index, the Korea Composite Stock Price Index, fell 3.9 per cent on-year in 2024, and the funds that invest in local stocks suffered a 0.47 per cent dip.

Meanwhile, South Korea’s three major department store chains said on Tuesday their luxury goods sales continued to rise last year on steady demand for premium products despite an economic slowdown.

Luxury goods sales at Lotte, Shinsegae and Hyundai department stores sharply increased during the 2020-2022 period when people were engaged in “revenge spending,” in which they made up for missed travel and shopping during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The pace of sales growth in luxury goods slowed in 2023 as consumers spent more on travel and other leisure experiences. But in the following year, the three companies came up with robust sales results.

Luxury sales at Lotte Department Store, the country’s biggest department store by sales, rose 5 percent in 2024 from a year earlier.

Shinsegae’s and Hyundai’s luxury sales climbed 6.2 per cent and 11.7 per cent, respectively, over the same period.

The companies did not provide the value of their luxury goods sales.

—IANS