The cash parked in brokerage accounts for share purchases shrank to 104.6584 trillion won by July 30, underscoring weaker liquidity as the KOSPI swung sharply since July.
Investor deposits in South Korea's stock market, a closely watched pool of standby cash for equity buying, dropped sharply as the KOSPI underwent heavy swings since July. Data released on Aug. 3 by the Korea Financial Investment Association showed those deposits stood at 104.6584 trillion won as of July 30, the same day the benchmark hit a recent low. That was down by more than 35 trillion won from the record 139.6948 trillion won reached on June 4, a decline that unfolded in roughly two months. Average daily investor deposits last month also fell by nearly 20 trillion won from the previous month and were about 10 trillion won lower than in March, when the KOSPI went through a correction after a military conflict between the United States and Iran. Investor deposits refer to money placed in securities company accounts for stock purchases, and a smaller cash pool can signal softer market liquidity and weaker supply-demand momentum.