The domestic stocks related to COVID-19 have shown strength early in the trading session on the 24th after news of a novel bat coronavirus that can be transmitted to humans. This has been interpreted as an increase in investor sentiment due to expectations that funding may flow into the development of diagnostic kits and vaccines.
As of 9:49 a.m. on the 24th, shares of GeneOne Life Science are trading at 2,305 won, up 12.71% (260 won) from the previous trading day in the KOSPI market. Sugentech, listed on KOSDAQ, has surged 21.55% (1,250 won) to 7,050 won compared to the previous trading day. SD BIOSENSOR, SK bioscience, Ildong Pharmaceutical, Shin Poong Pharm, among others, are also showing strength.
Investor sentiment has concentrated on COVID-19-related stocks following news that Chinese researchers discovered a novel bat coronavirus transmissible to humans. According to the South China Morning Post (SCMP) on the 21st (local time), researchers from the Wuhan Institute of Virology announced on the 18th that they found a new coronavirus (HKU5-CoV-2) in a paper.
This virus is known to penetrate through human receptors similar to the virus that causes COVID-19 (SARS-CoV-2), posing a risk of transmission from animals to humans. However, the researchers explained that the novel virus does not easily invade human cells like the COVID-19 virus.
Following media reports, shares of Moderna rose more than 5% on the New York Stock Exchange on the 21st. COVID-19-related stocks, including Pfizer (1.54%) and Novavax (0.88%), also showed strong gains.