Work-from-Home and Diagnostic Kit Stocks That 'Held Up' During the Crash Falter Again in a Day

Despite Sidecar Activation, Recorded Upper Limit Price... Shifted to Decline Within a Day
Online Education Stocks, Which Hesitated the Previous Day, Rebounded Again

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Minwoo Lee] The domestic stock market plummeted as the sharp drop in international oil prices coincided with the spread of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19). While most COVID-19 themed stocks fell sharply, sectors related to remote work and diagnostic kits managed to grow by more than 10% amid this situation. This appears to reflect expectations for the export of diagnostic kits and the prolongation of remote work. However, this upward trend stalled after just one day and shifted to a downward trend. On the other hand, online education stocks, which had faltered the previous day, are gaining attention again.

According to the Korea Exchange on the 13th, ECS, which operates video conferencing and network integration businesses, was trading at 3,725 won as of 10:20 a.m., down 12.25% from the previous day. This contrasts with the previous day when the KOSDAQ market plunged 5.39%, but ECS surged 29.86% to hit the upper limit. Remote support and control solution provider RSUPPORT and video conferencing system provider Lingnet are showing similar trends. Although they rose up to 23.30% and 19.57% respectively the previous day, as of now they have fallen 13.19% and 10.8% compared to the previous day. Investment poured in on expectations that remote work would increase long-term due to the spread of COVID-19, but the mood seems to have cooled amid the resumed sharp decline on the 13th.

Diagnostic kit-related stocks showed a similar pattern. IntroMedic, a supplier of COVID-19 diagnostic kits, rose to the price increase limit (29.91%) the previous day. This was due to news of signing a general distribution contract for rapid diagnostic kits with gene analysis company IoneBio. However, as of 10:20 a.m. on the same day, it was trading at 3,610 won, down 5%. Humasis, which developed a COVID-19 immune diagnostic kit and applied for export approval from the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, closed the previous day at 2,125 won, up 29.97%, but has fallen about 13.41% again today.

On the other hand, online education stocks, which struggled the previous day, are slightly rebounding. NE Neungyule is recording 3,888 won, up 6.74% from the previous close. This contrasts with the previous day when it fell as much as 6.68%. At that time, the Ministry of Education stated that it could not prematurely decide on further school reopening delays, causing online education stocks to enter a downward trend. Yoo Eun-hye, Deputy Prime Minister for Social Affairs and Minister of Education, visited an elementary school in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province, and said, "Whether to delay school reopening further is a matter to be judged by synthesizing opinions from the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and experts," adding, "We are currently preparing on the premise of reopening on the 23rd."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.