The domestic stock market has entered a calmer phase after a period of extreme volatility, but individual investors’ participation has weakened as the KOSPI remains trapped in a box range. The index moved more than 3% from the previous trading day on 14 of 22 sessions last month, or 64%, compared with eight sessions so far this month. Moves of at least 5% fell from seven days in June and 10 in July to three this month, while VKOSPI, the KOSPI 200 Volatility Index (a gauge of expected market volatility), declined from 97.99 in late June to 50.08 on the 28th. Sidecar activations also fell to five in August from 10 in June and 15 in July, and no circuit breaker was triggered this month. Average KOSPI daily volume and trading value reached their lowest levels of the year, while the turnover rate fell to 0.54%. Investor deposits declined from nearly 140 trillion Korean won in early June to 96.7091 trillion won on the 28th. Samsung Securities researcher Kwon Beom-seok said indicators of individual demand were falling and that selling pressure could persist under a mean-reversion scenario. With the domestic market struggling to break out of its range, investors have increased their exposure to U.S. stocks. Domestic holdings rose 14% to $186.7 billion by the 28th, and individuals net-purchased $7.0388 billion of U.S. stocks over roughly two months. The securities industry expects overseas stock investment to remain strong for the time being as the Korean won has recently strengthened.