Reports say COVID-19 is spreading again, and Korea's pharmaceutical and biotech stocks are broadly rallying.
As of 9:42 a.m. on the 24th, Shin Poong Pharm, considered a representative infectious disease treatment stock on the KOSPI market, was trading at 9,830 won, up 21.06% (1,710 won).
At the same time on the KOSDAQ market, Sugentech(253840), a domestic immune diagnostic kit stock, was at 4,540 won, up 15.67% (615 won). Seegene(096530), a molecular diagnostics stock, was also trading at 31,750 won, up 4.10% (1,250 won).
The market reads that, with reports of a surge in COVID-19 patients as summer foot traffic rises, funds are concentrating across the broader biotech theme.
According to recent media reports, Korea's COVID detection rate rose from 5.7% on the 2nd–8th to 9.1% on the 9th–15th, up 3.4 percentage points.