Has the 'Stock Fever' Subsided?…Stock Market Waiting Funds Drop to 50 Trillion Won for the First Time This Year

[Asia Economy Reporter Ji Yeon-jin] Investor deposits, known as standby funds in the stock market, fell below 60 trillion won for the first time this year. More than 10 trillion won was withdrawn from deposits following the record-breaking public offering subscription of SK Bioscience on the 9th and 10th.

According to the Korea Financial Investment Association on the 14th, investor deposits stood at 57.6371 trillion won as of the 11th. Amid the stock craze continuing since last year, deposits first exceeded 70 trillion won on January 11 (72.0321 trillion won), then hit an all-time high of 74.4559 trillion won the next day, before gradually declining to around 62.2001 trillion won at the beginning of this month. However, on May 5 alone, a lump sum of 5 trillion won flowed in, pushing deposits over 67 trillion won, and on the 9th, they rose to 68.0096 trillion won.

Subsequently, over two days on the 10th (-7.6968 trillion won) and 11th (-2.7656 trillion won), more than 10 trillion won was withdrawn at once, causing deposits to fall into the 50 trillion won range for the first time this year. Deposits refer to money that investors leave with securities firms to buy stocks or funds not withdrawn after selling stocks. It is standby capital that can be injected into the stock market at any time.

The securities industry views that deposits surged sharply ahead of the SK Bioscience public offering and then flowed out again after the subscription. The subscription deposit for SK Bioscience’s public offering was 63.6197 trillion won, breaking the previous record held by Kakao Games (58.5543 trillion won). The number of subscription applications also set a new record at 2,398,167.

On the second day of subscription, the 10th, deposits sharply decreased by nearly 8 trillion won to 60.4028 trillion won. This was because a large-scale subscription deposit was withdrawn from accounts. On the same day, the balance of repurchase agreements (RP), classified as standby funds in the stock market, also decreased by about 5 trillion won from 91 trillion won to 86 trillion won, and the CMA balance dropped by about 18 trillion won from 63 trillion won to the 45 trillion won range.

Some expected that after the refund of SK Bioscience subscription deposits was completed, the deposit size would increase again and be injected into the stock market. However, there is also an opinion that the recent decline in deposits reflects weakened investor sentiment due to concerns over rising interest rates and a correction market that has lasted about two months. In fact, the daily trading volume of the KOSPI decreased from about 44 trillion won on January 11 to about 16 trillion won on the 12th.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.