"We Can't Stand the Bear Market Anymore"... Deposits Fall Below 50 Trillion Won After Over 2 Years

Daily Investor Deposits Expected to Reach Around 48 Trillion Won Starting Late This Month

[Asia Economy Reporter Minji Lee] Investor deposit funds, which serve as standby capital in the stock market, have fallen below 50 trillion won for the first time in 2 years and 3 months. This is due to the expansion of a ‘reverse money move’ phenomenon, where funds are shifting from stocks to safer assets such as savings deposits or bonds.

According to the Korea Financial Investment Association on the 30th, the average amount of investor deposit funds from the 1st to the 27th of this month was approximately 49.7178 trillion won. From the end of this month, the daily investor deposit funds are expected to hover around 48 trillion won, with the average for October likely to fall below 50 trillion won.

Investor deposit funds refer to money that investors have deposited in securities accounts to buy stocks or money from selling stocks that has not been withdrawn. It is an indicator showing the level of interest in stock investment as standby funds preparing to enter the stock market.

The monthly average of investor deposit funds falling below 50 trillion won is the first time in 2 years and 3 months since July 2020, when it was 46.059 trillion won. Before the COVID-19 outbreak, in January and February 2020, it was only about 28 to 29 trillion won. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, interest rates dropped to stimulate the economy, and a stock investment boom occurred in the low-interest-rate era, causing investor deposit funds to increase significantly. On June 26, 2020, it surpassed 50 trillion won for the first time. Based on the monthly average, it first exceeded 50 trillion won in August 2020 and even surpassed 60 trillion won in December of the same year.

In the KOSPI market this month, the average daily trading value by individuals (the average of purchase and sale amounts) was about 4.9114 trillion won, which is approximately a 70% decrease compared to January last year (17.2994 trillion won), when the KOSPI first surpassed 3,000 points.

Money from individual investors who have left the stock market is flowing into bank savings deposits or bonds. According to the Korea Financial Investment Association, from January this year to the 28th of this month, individuals have net purchased bonds worth 16.6503 trillion won in the over-the-counter bond market. This amount is about four times the 4.0475 trillion won during the same period last year.

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