Retail Traders Love Korea Market Where Shorts Aren’t Allowed
- Korea is the largest market to keep a Covid short-selling ban
- Short selling could resume for retail investors in March
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South Korea’s government has found a tool to keep the retail investors that are increasingly dominating the stock market happy: A short-selling ban that’s turning into one of the world’s longest and broadest.
In August, the government extended the ban the country imposed in March for another half a year, much to the consternation of institutional investors needing to short sell to manage risks. That ban was prolonged even though the benchmark Kospi has soared almost 60% since its March swoon. The extension makes the ban one of the longest by any major market in the wake of Covid-19.