KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 17 — Bursa Malaysia opened higher on Thursday, extending its gains for the fourth consecutive day as major glove makers, including Top Glove, rebounded from previous losses, while Hartalega continued to trade stronger.

At 9.05am, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) rose 3.16 points to 1,534.44 from Tuesday’s close of 1,531.28.

It opened 9.86 points stronger at 1,541.14.

On the broader market, market breadth was positive with gainers thumping losers 343 to 121, while 283 counters were unchanged, 1,307 untraded and 20 others suspended.

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Total volume stood at 567.07 million shares worth RM317.6 million.

Malacca Securities said the impending release of Top Glove’s financial results may also provide fresh leads to extend the upside.

The world’s largest rubber glove manufacturer is set to release its 2020 results today.

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“We also favour the plantation sector with crude palm oil prices advancing beyond RM2,900 per tonne, while the construction sector will remain in recovery mode,” it said in a note.

Additionally, the surge in crude oil prices, owing to the unexpected decline in the United States’ (US) inventory level and the shutdown in US offshore production due to Hurricane Sally may drive trading interests within the energy sector.

The research firm also expected the positive sentiment to remain in charge over the foreseeable future as investors return to hunt for beaten down stocks, but cautioned that significant gains would likely be choppy.

“The positive momentum continues to be spurred by the stronger-than-expected economic data worldwide,” it said in a note.

Meanwhile, the US stock markets finished on a mixed note after coming off from their intraday high, with the Dow up by 0.1 per cent, while both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq slipped 0.5 per cent and 1.3 per cent, respectively, on weakness in technology stocks.

This occurred despite the dovish monetary policy announcement by the US Federal Reserve (US Fed), which indicated that the overnight rate could stay close to zero for years to reach its 2.0 per cent inflation target.

The US Fed had also revised its estimates for economic growth in 2021 and 2022 downwards to 4.0 percent and 3.0 percent, respectively.

On the local market, heavyweights Hartalega surged 82 sen to RM14.92, Top Glove was 22 sen firmer at RM8.65, TNB added six sen to RM11.06 and Dialog rose three sen to RM3.79.

In contrast, bank counters were in the red, with Maybank losing 10 sen to RM7.40, Public Bank dropping 28 sen to RM16.42 and CIMB declining one sen to RM3.22.

Top gainers included Kossan, which increased 36 sen to RM12.06, Supermax which improved 14 sen to RM8.51 and Rubberex which perked 12 sen to RM5.46.

Of the actives, Ekovest was five sen higher at 63 sen, Technodex advanced three sen to 19 sen, while Bina Puri and KNM gained one sen to 11 sen and 22 sen, respectively.

On the index board, the FBM Emas Index leapt 38.66 points to 11,017.86 and the FBM Emas Shariah Index expanded 97.89 points to 13,043.28.

The FBM 70 improved 94.90 points to 14,177.79, the FBMT 100 Index inched up 34.83 points to 10,826.67 and the FBM ACE jumped 110.64 points to 11,489.13.

Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index depreciated 87.26 points to 12,739.14, the Plantation Index improved 7.03 points to 7,121.27 and the Industrial Products and Services Index was up 0.38 of-a-point to 137.95. — Bernama