KUALA LUMPUR, July 20 — The FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) edged higher at mid-afternoon, backed by strong demand for Top Glove shares.

As at 3pm, the index rose 2.44 points to 1,598.77 from Friday’s close of 1,596.33.

The overall market breadth was mixed with losers outpacing gainers 531 to 505, while 383 counters were unchanged, 553 untraded and 19 others suspended.

Top Glove’s shares had increased by RM2.40 to RM25.38 after the world’s largest glove manufacturer announced a proposed two-for-one bonus issue of 5.48 billion new shares.

According to data from Bloomberg, Top Glove’s shares grew at an exponential rate within a 52-week period, skyrocketing from RM4.21 to its peak of RM26.12, with a market capitalisation of RM62 billion.

Meanwhile, half of the heavyweight counters remained in the red, with Tenaga Nasional declining 18 sen to RM11.36 and DiGi slipping 16 sen to RM4.32.

Of the most active, technology counters took the lead with Lambo rising one sen to five sen, while Eduspec and NETX both added half-a-sen to 2.5 sen and 1.5 sen, respectively.

On the index board, the FBM Emas Index rose 48.53 points to 11,320.98, the FBMT 100 Index appreciated 43.07 points to 11,173.28 and the FBM Emas Shariah Index jumped 127.33 points to 13,126.61.

The FBM 70 was stronger by 157.85 points at 14,210.59 and the FBM ACE increased by 68.93 points to 7,559.83.

Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index slipped 80.77 points to 13,496.67, while the Plantation Index rose by 72.01 points to 7,040.83. — Bernama