Rush Into Leveraged Bets Sparks Fears of Fresh Asian Stock Rout

Inflows into leveraged exchange-traded funds and elevated levels of borrowed cash to buy stocks are reviving fears that some of Asia’s largest markets may suffer a repeat of last week’s war-induced selloff.

Leveraged ETFs in the region received net inflows over both the past week and month, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. In China, Taiwan and South Korea, the amounts of margin loans sat near the highest in decades, with Japan’s at a record, data as of the end of last week show.