South Korea's financial authorities said Wednesday they are considering imposing a cap on the proportion of single-stock leveraged exchange-traded funds in individual investment portfolios as part of efforts to curb extreme stock market volatility.

Finance Minister Koo Yun-cheol and the heads of other financial authorities discussed the measure during an emergency meeting. One option under consideration is to cap such ETFs at 20 percent of retail investors' portfolios, although no decision has been made on the threshold.

The discussion comes as policymakers examine retail trading products that can magnify short-term swings in underlying shares, making portfolio concentration a point of concern for regulators overseeing market stability. Any limit would affect how individual investors allocate holdings in these products, while leaving room for authorities to decide the final threshold.

"The participants shared the view that single-stock leveraged ETFs have contributed to stock market volatility, and vowed to come up with swift and bold countermeasures," the finance ministry said. (Yonhap)