The Kosdaq has risen about 19 percent this month, the best performance among major global equity indexes. But some of the speculative trading that had fueled volatility in the KOSPI has migrated to the junior bourse, leaving the smaller-cap market prone to sharper swings, market watchers said Wednesday. The index hit a year-to-date high of 1,226.18 on April 27 before sliding from May, according to the Korea Exchange. It fell to 644.78 on July 30, a three-month low, before rebounding sharply to the 850 level. The turnaround came as enthusiasm for semiconductor stocks cooled and tighter restrictions on single-stock leveraged exchange-traded funds (ETFs) dampened activity in the benchmark KOSPI. Bargain hunting after the Kosdaq's steep decline also helped fuel the rebound. However, the shift has also redirected speculative capital into the market, with retail investors rapidly changing their positioning. Buy-side trading curbs have been triggered four times in seven sessions since July 31. Between July 1 to 31, individual investors bought a net 1.16 trillion won ($819.1 million) of the KODE