Kospi's historic 9,000 breakthrough sends investor deposits surging nearly 3.8 trillion won in a single day

Investor deposits earmarked for stock market participation surged nearly 3.8 trillion won (approximately $2.49 billion) in a single day after the Kospi broke above 9,000 for the first time in history.

According to the Korea Financial Investment Association, investor deposits — cash held in customer accounts at financial investment firms — stood at 128.409 trillion won on Thursday.

The figure had climbed to 139.695 trillion won on June 4 before retreating to 121.057 trillion won on June 12. It then began recovering, reaching 124.632 trillion won on Wednesday before jumping 3.7766 trillion won, or 3.0 percent, to 128.409 trillion won on Thursday, the day the Kospi surpassed the 9,000 mark.

Investor deposits have nearly doubled over the past year, rising from 68.9724 trillion won at the end of June last year to 124.552 trillion won on Tuesday. The increase over just the past three months exceeds 14 trillion won.

The balance of margin financing — a gauge of debt-fueled investing — also expanded. The figure represents the outstanding amount retail investors have borrowed from brokerages to buy shares and have yet to repay, reflecting the scale of leveraged bets in the market.

The balance reached 37.9797 trillion won on Thursday, the highest level since the all-time record of 38.0227 trillion won set on May 29. Within that total, margin financing on the main securities market hit 28.9275 trillion won, itself a record high.

The concentration of leveraged investment on the main board rather than the Kosdaq reflects a rally led by large-cap stocks listed on the Korea Exchange.

By contrast, the balance of stock lending transactions used to bet on falling share prices fell to 191.499 trillion won, declining for three consecutive days since Monday.

With signs of margin investing overheating again, some brokerages have begun applying the brakes. Mirae Asset Securities on Friday reclassified 10 stocks from group "E" to group "F," including Doosan Enerbility, Samsung Electro-Mechanics, Samsung SDI, Ecopro BM, Posco Holdings and Hanwha Ocean.

For the exchange-traded funds "HANARO Fn K-Semiconductor" and "TIGER 200 IT," as well as Kakao Bank and Shinsegae, the reclassification to group "F" was accompanied by a hike in the margin deposit rate from 30–40 percent to 100 percent.

Stocks designated as requiring a 100 percent margin deposit or classified under group "F" are subject to restrictions on new margin loans and loan extensions.

KB Securities announced Wednesday that new margin buy orders would be temporarily restricted to comply with credit extension limits under the Capital Markets Act.

Meritz Securities raised the margin deposit rate on three stocks — including Jeju Semiconductor and Jusung Engineering — from 30–50 percent to 100 percent.

As the Kospi surpasses 9,000 for the first time in history, the flow of funds from banks into the stock market is expected to accelerate further, with the stark contrast between equity returns and deposit rates drawing money out of savings accounts.

“코스피140% vs. 정기예금 0.3%” 은행서 돈 빠져 나가는 소리가 들린다 [머니무브 뉴웨이브]

https://biz.heraldcorp.com/article/10776352