KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 11 ― Bursa Malaysia extended yesterday's losses to open on a negative note today, as the US stock benchmarks finished lower yesterday after a volatile session.

However, rubber glove counters regained their recent lost ground by emerging as top gainers across the board.

At 9.48am, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) slid 0.26 point to 1,489.86 from yesterday's close of 1,490.12.

The key index opened 3.89 points easier at 1,486.23.

Of the heavyweights, Maybank fell 13 sen to RM7.37, Tenaga lost 24 sen to RM11.26 and Petronas Chemicals was 12 sen lower at RM5.60.

Meanwhile, Top Glove and Hartalega staged a rebound, rising 61 sen to RM7.06 and advancing 30 sen to RM12.18 respectively.

On the top gainers list, apart from Top Glove and Hartalega, Supermax jumped 80 sen to RM6.90, Rubberex accumulated 75 sen to RM5.05, Careplus added 29 sen to RM2.31, Kossan climbed 22 sen to RM9.92 while Comfort Glove was 24 sen better at RM3.47.

In a note today, Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd said glove stocks, which have seen strong selling pressure lately, are likely to see a technical rebound.

"Hence, investors may take some position for rebound play,” it said, adding that the FBM KLCI’s support level is now at 1,480.

Most active included XOX, which perked one sen to 19.5 sen, while Pegasus Heights and Sapura Energy inched up half-a-sen each to three sen and 11 sen respectively, Permaju added 1.5 sen to 32.5 sen while Asian Pac was flat at 12.5 sen.

The top losers list was led by Panamy, which declined 50 sen to RM28.30, while Petronas Dagangan erased 36 sen to RM20.42 and MPI gave up 16 sen to RM16.42.

On the index board, the FBM Emas Index rose 13.95 points to 10,622.88 and the FBM Emas Shariah Index accumulated 68.49  points to 12,441.32.

The FBM 70 increased 98.09 points to 13,469.33, the FBMT 100 Index was 17.43 points firmer at 10,455.46 and the FBM ACE surged 334.74 points to 10,032.25.

Sector-wise, the Healthcare Index rebounded 108.22 points to 3,253.42, the Financial Services Index shed 96.72 points to 12,604.45.13 and the Industrial Products and Services Index edged down 0.72 point to 134.12.

The Plantation Index was 7.12 points higher at 7,029.22. ― Bernama