COVID-19 Related Stocks That Withstood the KOSPI and KOSDAQ Market Crash

On the 19th, the KOSPI index opened at 1,626.09, up 34.89 points (2.19%) from the previous trading day. Dealers are working in the Hana Bank dealing room in Jung-gu, Seoul. Photo by Jinhyung Kang aymsdream@

The domestic stock market experienced an unprecedented crash over the past week. While the fear of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) 'pandemic' persisted, most stocks showed weakness, whereas COVID-19 related stocks surged sharply.

According to the Korea Exchange, the KOSPI fell by 205.29 points (11.58%) over the week. The global spread of COVID-19 dealt a direct blow to the domestic stock market. However, even amid this crash, COVID-19 related stocks such as diagnostic kits and vaccines surged significantly.

Diagnostic kit company Seegene soared 37.8% in just one week. LabGenomics (49.4%), Sugentech (61.4%), and Access Bio (32.7%) also surged. In the case of Access Bio, its subsidiary Wells Bio significantly increased its value after obtaining European certification (CE) for its COVID-19 diagnostic kit on the 3rd. Recently, it also received export approval from the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety for the COVID-19 diagnostic kit 'careGENE™ N-CoV RT-PCR Kit.'

The reason COVID-19 diagnostic stocks are attracting attention is due to the growing importance of rapid diagnostic speed. Especially as COVID-19 is rapidly spreading worldwide, including Italy, Europe, the United States, and Latin America, demand for diagnostic kits with fast diagnostic technology is expected to increase further.

COVID-19 vaccine manufacturers also showed strength. GeneOne Life Science surged 22.5% over five trading days. Its stock price jumped significantly after declaring the development of a COVID-19 RNA vaccine on the 18th. Other vaccine-related stocks such as Bukwang Pharmaceutical (6.63%), Macrogen (5.6%), and Genomictree (3.86%) also showed strength.

Seungyoon Jung, a researcher at Korea Investment & Securities, said, "As COVID-19 spreads, overseas countries' demand for domestic companies with records of completing tests on many patients is bound to increase."

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