KUALA LUMPUR, July 28 ― Persistent buying in glove makers Hartalega and Top Glove amidst the worldwide resurgence in Covid-19 cases has propelled Bursa Malaysia to end the morning session higher today.
At lunch break, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) shot up 11.14 points, or 0.70 per cent to 1,602.62 from 1,591.48 at Monday's close.
The key index opened 3.16 points higher at 1,594.64, and hovered between 1,593.24 and 1,606.29 throughout the morning session.
Market breadth was positive with gainers surpassing losers 557 to 461, while 390 counters were unchanged, 601 untraded and 30 others suspended.
Trading volume stood at 7.47 billion units worth RM4.41 billion.
Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd said the rising number of new Covid-19 cases may continue to boost the buying momentum in the glove-related and healthcare stocks.
“At the same time, we reckon that technology stocks may garner further interests, taking the cue from gains on the overnight Nasdaq Composite Index which rose 1.7 per cent to finish slightly below the record high level,” it said in a note today.
However, the brokerage firm expects the consolidation on the local bourse to prolong, as any gains will be punctuated by quick profit taking activities.
“Nevertheless, the sustainable high trading volumes suggests that trading opportunities are still prevalent within the broader market and lower liners, particularly the FBM ACE listed stocks, as investors continue their quest to seek for high yield investments,” it added.
Meanwhile, of the heavyweights, gainers were led by Hartalega, which added RM1.20 to RM19.50, as well as Top Glove, which garnered 36 sen to RM26.24, while Nestle was RM1.90 higher at RM141.00, Hap Seng increased 17 sen to RM8.82 and Maxis ticked up five sen to RM5.24.
Aside from Nestle and Hartalega, the list of top gainers included DKSH which expanded 41 sen to RM3.20 and Rubberex, which advanced 38 sen to RM4.38.
Meawhile, Supermax surged RM1.32 to RM18.76 and nine of its call warrants also dominated the top gainers list.
Among the actives, XOX climbed 3.5 sen to 28 sen, AT Systematizaion rose 1.5 sen to nine sen, while Borneo Oil, Key Alliance and Fintec inched up half-a-sen each to five sen, 9.5 sen and 9.5 sen, respectively.
On the index board, the FBM Emas Index leapt 94.60 points to 11,417.61, the FBMT 100 Index appreciated 93.98 points to 11,253.35 and the FBM Emas Shariah Index was 144.75 points firmer at 13,369.61.
The FBM 70 gained 183.49 points to 14,522.91 and the FBM ACE was 205.61 points higher at 8,469.78.
Sector-wise, the Plantation Index strengthened 8.19 points to 7,170.30, the Industrial Products and Services Index edged up 1.11 points to 141.23 while the Financial Services Index accumulated 32.55 points to 13,390.63. ― Bernama
