Domestic Stock Market Sees ‘Stock Immigration’ Amid Sluggish Performance

The domestic stock market is experiencing a significant decline in trading volume, with individual investors’ share of trading volume decreasing by 6.68% from 71.05% last year to 64.37% in September. This decline is attributed to concerns over the gold investment tax and the market’s sluggish performance compared to major global countries.

The trading volume of individual investors in August decreased by 29.8% from last year, while that of foreigners decreased by only 14.43%. The total trading volume in August decreased from 504.9065 trillion won in 2023 to 382.1329 trillion won this year, evaporating by well over 100 trillion won.

Investors are turning to overseas stock markets, such as the US, in search of higher returns. The amount of US stocks held by domestic investors increased by 28.2% from last year, while the amount of money held in Japanese stocks also increased by nearly 1 billion dollars.

The KOSPI and KOSDAQ index performances are at the lowest levels among the G20 countries, with KOSPI ranking 19th and KOSDAQ ranking 23rd. The US’s Nasdaq ranked third, while India’s Sensex ranked fourth. Japan’s Topix and Nikkei ranked seventh and ninth, respectively.

The introduction of a gold investment tax is expected to add downward pressure to the domestic stock market, increasing the negative outlook and intensifying the withdrawal of investors who are not subject to the tax.

Key Statistics:

• Individual investors’ share of trading volume decreased by 6.68% from 71.05% last year to 64.37% in September.
• Trading volume of individual investors in August decreased by 29.8% from last year.
• Total trading volume in August decreased from 504.9065 trillion won in 2023 to 382.1329 trillion won this year.
• Amount of US stocks held by domestic investors increased by 28.2% from last year.
• KOSPI ranked 19th and KOSDAQ ranked 23rd among G20 countries.