BETWEEN February and April, when stocks worldwide were plunging because economies were shuttered to combat the spread of Covid-19, Japanese individuals opened 820,000 online broking accounts, more than double the number in the same period in 2019.

The Tokyo Stock Exchange's Mothers Index, which tracks emerging companies, mostly tech startups, soared throughout this period. It has been reported that the stock of all but seven of the 320 companies have risen since April, especially those connected with the biosciences or pharmaceutical industries.

The story is the same throughout most markets all over the world: In Singapore for instance, all broking houses reported an increase in retail account openings and activity over the past four to five months. In the United States, Goldman Sachs reported that the percentage of trading volume in the stock and options market from small trades has surged since January; discount brokers TD Ameritrade has reported that visits to its website teaching people how to trade stocks have nearly quadrupled.