Why Direxion Korea Bull 3X (KORU) fell 8.95%
Direxion Korea Bull 3X (KORU) fell 8.95% on October 7, 2026 — Trump's 300% tariff threat hits Korea stocks.
What happened
Trump threatened tariffs up to 300% on foreign goods, with explicit pressure on Korea over insufficient US investment, triggering a broad selloff in Korean equities and leveraged Korea ETFs like KORU (a 3x bull).
Why it moved
A 3x leveraged long fund amplifies daily losses; when the Korea theme corrects on tariff risk, KORU compounds that drawdown, losing ~9% as the index itself fell ~3%.
Why it matters
Korea Tech had benefited from AI-chip and HBM tailwinds, but the tariff shock exposes export dependency and capex uncertainty, unraveling the premium. Leveraged vehicles are first to reprice on regime shifts.
What would break the thesis
If Trump delays or narrows tariffs, or exempts key Korean chipmakers, the tariff premium reverses sharply upward — 3x leverage would amplify that recovery just as harshly, creating violent snap-backs.