COVID-19 Related Stocks That Survived Alone in an Unprecedented Market Crash

[Asia Economy Reporter Minji Lee] Despite the historic market crash, interest in stocks related to the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) continues unabated in the domestic stock market. This is because global attention is focused on COVID-19 diagnostic technology, leading to a series of order announcements from related companies.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

According to the Korea Exchange on the 19th, Seegene closed at 67,200 KRW, up 13.51% from the previous day. On the same day, the KOSPI and KOSDAQ indices both plunged about 8%, marking the largest drop in history, but COVID-19 related stocks closed higher.

Seegene showed an upward trend as it was reported to have completed a pre-submission to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regarding its COVID-19 diagnostic kit. Since receiving emergency use authorization for its COVID-19 diagnostic kit, Seegene has been exporting to Europe as well as domestically.

In addition, Bioneer (7.32%) and Sugentech (5.38%) showed significant gains fueled by export-related good news. On the same day, Bioneer announced that it would supply COVID-19 diagnostic kits to Romania after receiving European CE certification. Sugentech continued its upward trend on news that it is preparing to apply for emergency use authorization from the FDA. Other companies such as Humasis (4.80%), Boditech Med (3.85%), and Access Bio (3.84%) also showed strength.

The reason COVID-19 diagnostic-related stocks are attracting attention in the domestic stock market is due to the globally recognized rapid diagnostic speed. Especially as COVID-19 is spreading rapidly in Europe, including Italy, and the United States, demand for diagnostic kits that can quickly diagnose the virus is expected to increase.

Seung-yoon Jung, a researcher at Korea Investment & Securities, said, “The level of domestic medical infrastructure, which ranks among the top globally in clinical market share, is receiving worldwide attention,” adding, “As COVID-19 spreads, overseas countries’ demand for domestic companies with records of testing a large number of patients is bound to increase.”

On the same day, stocks related to COVID-19 vaccines also showed strength in the stock market. SV Investment closed at 2,570 KRW, up 29.80% (limit up) from the previous session. This was due to news that an antiviral drug candidate developed by Immuned, a company invested in by SV Investment, had an effect on improving symptoms in COVID-19 patients. Other stocks such as Bukwang Pharmaceutical (13.71%), Macrogen (13.60%), Genomictree (2%), and BC World Pharm (1%) also surged.

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