Gloves lift FBM KLCI higher as Covid-19 cases climb
KUALA LUMPUR: Glove makers underpinned the FBM KLCI’s advance on Thursday as the Covid-19 cases continued to surge amid a positive market sentiment.
Malaysia’s Covid-19 cases continued to climb, as the country reported a record 13,215 infections on Thursday. It's also the third straight day where new cases are in the five digits.
At 5pm, the FBM KLCI ended up 8.5 points, or 0.56% to 1,520.82.
Market breadth turned positive as gainers overpowered the losers on a ratio of 612-to-348 stocks. Turnover stood at 5.08 billion shares valued at RM3.49bil.
Dealers said bargain hunting activities emerged on the local bourse after the selloff in the previous session. A dealer noted that market participants focused on healthcare-related and recovery theme stocks.
Bursa Malaysia’s healthcare index gained the most in terms of percentage among the indices today. The index rose 128.49 points, or 4.62% to 2,908.42.
Hartalega, the top gainer on Bursa Malaysia, jumped 38 sen to RM7.64. Adventa added 35 sen to RM1.82, Top Glove gained 28 sen to RM4.04 and Careplus rose 23 sen to RM1.99.
Supermax added 21 sen to RM3.50, Kossan rose 21 sen to RM3.28 and Comfort climbed 17 sen to RM1.99.
Duopharma added 14 sen to RM3.04, Pharmaniaga rose 12.5 sen to RM1.04 and IHH Healthcare advanced six sen to RM5.70.
Among the decliners, MPI tumbled 94 sen to RM42.38, Kumpulan H & L High-Tech fell 45 sen to RM4.24, Widetec lost 37 sen to RM3.93 and Petronas Dagangan shed 36 sen to RM18.68.
Meanwhile, oil prices fell more than 1% on Thursday as US fuel stocks rose, raising concerns about demand in the world's largest consumer.
Brent crude fell US$1.14, or 1.14%, to US$73.62 a barrel while US West Texas Intermediate crude was last traded at US$71.82 a barrel, down US$1.31, or 1.79%.
On the external front, MSCI's Asia ex-Japan stock index was firmer by 0.78%.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 dropped 1.2% to close at 28,279.09 while South Korea’s Kospi ended 21.41 points, or 0.66% higher at 3,286.22.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index was up 208.81 points or 0.75% at 27,996.27.
China’s Shanghai Composite index was up 1.02% at 3,564.59 and the blue-chip CSI300 index was up 1.35%.
https://www.thestar.com.my/business/business-news/2021/07/15/gloves-lift-fbm-klci-higher-as-covid-19-cases-climb
