Global funds bet on South Korean chipmakers after leverage-driven July collapse

Global investors pulled back from South Korean stocks through a wild turn in July but are keeping faith with the heavyweight chipmakers on the view that their growth momentum is intact, while leveraged holdings that rocked the market may ​have thinned out.

In a sign of the shift in mood, a record rally on July 31 showed foreigners, who have been net sellers of South Korean shares all year, turned ‌buyers of 7.2 trillion won ($5 billion) worth of stock, more than double the previous one-day...