South Korea’s stock market surge has pushed investor deposits above 100 trillion won for the first time.
The Korea Financial Investment Association said investor deposits totaled 100.2826 trillion won as of Jan. 27. That is up 12.4535 trillion won from 87.8291 trillion won at the end of last year.
Investor deposits are funds clients keep at brokerage firms to trade stocks, funds and other investment products. Because the money can move into the market at any time, it is treated as standby cash and is widely used as a gauge of investor sentiment.
Historically, rising deposits have been read as a sign that expectations for stronger indexes are growing and that more money could still flow into the market.
The latest increase comes as the rally continues, with money appearing to shift from other assets such as savings products and real estate. As the Kospi and Kosdaq have repeatedly hit record highs this year, profits taken by investors are also seen accumulating as deposits.
As sentiment has strengthened, margin investing has also increased.
As of Jan. 27, outstanding margin loans stood at 29.2450 trillion won, including 18.7847 trillion won in the Kospi market and 10.4603 trillion won in the Kosdaq market.
The Kospi is up 22.7% this year, breaking above 5,000 for the first time and reaching as high as 5,130. Its market capitalization totals 4,276 trillion won. The Kosdaq has gained 22.48% since the start of the year, topping 1,000 points for the first time since the 2000 “IT bubble” and settling around 1,130.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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