Bursa Malaysia ends higher in line with regional peers

KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia rose on Monday in sync with Asian and US stock markets performance, partially supported by risk-on mood following renewed hopes for a Covid-19 vaccine and continuous demand for glove-related counters.

The benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) ended the day 6.51 points higher at 1,511.36 compared with Friday’s close of 1,504.85.

The key index opened 8.58 points higher at 1,513.43 and moved between 1,506.41 and 1,515.66 throughout the day.

On the broader market, market breadth was positive with gainers thumping losers 732 to 300, while 453 counters were unchanged, 588 untraded and 20 others suspended.

Total volume swelled to 9.57 billion shares worth RM6.46 billion compared with 7.68 billion shares worth RM6.49 billion last Friday.

It was reported that AstraZeneca has resumed its phase-three coronavirus vaccine trial though sentiment is still cautious.

Bank Islam Malaysia Bhd economist Adam Mohamed Rahim said the FBM KLCI constituents, Top Glove and Hartalega led gains on Bursa Malaysia with a 10.6 per cent and 4.5 per cent jump respectively.

“Due to that, the Bursa Healthcare Index surged by 15.6 per cent for the day, making it the biggest winner among sectors, despite positive news regarding the vaccine.

“We opine that investors are optimistic for the Top Glove’s upcoming results, which will be released this Thursday,” he told Bernama.

However, it was reported that a New Zealand supplier of personal protective equipment (PPE) has stopped the import of disposable gloves linked with Top Glove, which could be a dampener to the latter’s share price.

Ebos, the largest medical and PPE supplier to the healthcare market in New Zealand, has stopped importing a brand of disposable gloves, after a Newsroom story highlighted links with Top Glove, a huge Malaysian glove producer accused of using forced migrant labour.

For the rest of the week, investors will stay tuned for the US Federal Open Market Committee’s policy meeting on Wednesday pertaining to US interest rate expectations, in addition to other central banks meeting such as the United Kingdom and Japan.

Heavyweights, Top Glove and Hartalega rose 82 sen and 56 sen to RM8.58 and RM13 respectively.

TM added 15 sen to RM4.21, MISC went up seven sen to RM7.62 and Petronas Gas put on 14 sen to RM16.68.