[Digital Today reporter Sangyeop Oh] As volatility in the domestic stock market persists, investor deposits — cash waiting on the sidelines for equities — have fallen below 90 trillion won. Margin lending balances also continued to decline, suggesting retail investors' risk appetite is weakening.

The Korea Financial Investment Association said on Oct. 22 that, as of Oct. 21, investor deposits fell by 663.1 billion won from the previous session to 89.6 trillion won. It was the first time the total fell below 90 trillion won in about nine months, since 89.3 trillion won on Jan. 14.

The deposits fell for seven straight sessions. The gap with this year's low of 88.0 trillion won on Jan. 13 also narrowed to about 1.6 trillion won.

Investor deposits are funds that investors keep in brokerage accounts to buy stocks and other assets, serving as standby money that can flow into the market.

The recent decline in deposits is also seen as partly influenced by retail investors buying stocks. In regular trading on Oct. 21, retail investors net bought 468.0 billion won worth of shares.

Some also interpret the latest moves as a slowdown in fresh money entering the stock market itself, given that deposits had risen in the first half alongside retail stock buying.

The scale of so-called debt-fuelled investing has also been shrinking.

As of Oct. 21, margin lending balances fell by 242.8 billion won from the previous session to 30.3 trillion won. It was the lowest level since 30.0 trillion won on Aug. 11.

Even on days when the domestic market shows a partial rebound, it has not fully escaped a downtrend, leading investors to become more cautious about putting in new money or using credit for investment.

Forced liquidation also declined. The forced sale amount on Oct. 21 was 12.9 billion won, down 9.7 billion won from 22.6 billion won a session earlier.

Forced liquidation exceeded 50.0 billion won a day for five straight sessions from Oct. 13 to 19, but the scale of forced selling has recently been declining rapidly. The ratio of forced liquidation to unsettled payments also fell to 1.1 percent from 1.6 percent the previous session.

As the market repeatedly swings sharply, both investor deposits and margin lending have been falling. Whether new funds flow back in during any market rebound is expected to be a key indicator for judging a recovery in retail investor sentiment.