South Korea market watchdog issues warning on leveraged stock investments

South Korea market watchdog issues warning on leveraged stock investments SEOUL, June 18 : South Korea's financial market regulator issued on Thursday an investor warning on single-stock leveraged investment products recently introduced amid a world-beating, chipmaker-led rally in the domestic market. "With stock market volatility increasing recently, there have been cases where the prices of single-stock leveraged or inverse products fluctuate sharply in the short term," the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) said in a statement. "Therefore, the FSS issues a consumer warning to remind retail investors of risks and to induce careful investment decisions," it said. Last month, stock brokerages received regulatory approval to launch single-stock leveraged investment products linked to Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, following a surge in the shares of the two chipmakers. The KOSPI has risen 111 per cent so far this year, led by gains of 190 per cent and 300 per cent in Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, respectively, with the two chipmakers accounting for more than 50 per cent of the benchmark.