BURSA Malaysia rallied on Thursday led by the healthcare sector, mainly glove counters, tracking recovery in the US and regional markets.
Most sectoral indices remained in positive territory, with the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) increasing 11.15 points to 1,607.73 at the close.
The market bellwether opened 3.31 points higher at 1,599.89, and fluctuated between 1,609.10 and 1,598.19 throughout the session.
Overall market breadth was slightly positive with gainers outpacing losers 545 to 534, while 442 counters were unchanged, 665 untraded and six others suspended.
Total volume, however, decreased to 7.90 billion shares worth RM4.98 bil from 8.68 billion shares worth RM4.40 bil on Wednesday.
Bank Islam Malaysia Bhd economist Adam Mohamed Rahim said the return of investors’ interest towards glove counters was due to the sudden surge in COVID-19 cases in many parts of the world.
“Malaysia is seeing an uptick in infections, which breached 2,000 cases on April 15, the level not seen since March 15.
“India recorded the world’s highest daily tally of 314,835 cases today as a second wave of the pandemic raised new fears about the ability of hard-pressed health services to cope,” he told Bernama.
In addition, Japanese government is considering a state of emergency for Tokyo and Osaka as new cases surge.
The domestic market also moved in sync with most regional bourses, despite worries over the resurgence in COVID-19 infections globally.
On Wednesday, the US’ stock markets rebounded as investors’ attention shifted to the progress in economic recovery amidst a flurry of corporate earnings releases.
The Dow rose 0.93% to 34,137.31, Nasdaq improved 1.19% to end at 13,950.22 and the S&P 500 increased 0.93% to close at 4,173.42.
Top Glove Corporation Bhd led heavyweights most of the day, increasing by 17 sen to RM5.62, while Hartalega Holdings Bhd improved 42 sen to RM10.54, Supermax Corporation Bhd was 23 sen higher at RM5.77, and IHH Healthcare Bhd added 15 sen to RM5.50, due to optimism over continued demand amid the rise in COVID-19 cases.
Petronas Chemicals Group Bhd gained 12 sen to RM7.91 and Hong Leong Financial Group Bhd was 22 sen stronger at RM17.
Among the active counters, Ucrest Bhd dropped seven sen to 41.5 sen, Key Asic Bhd lost 1.5 sen to 19.5 sen, Focus Dynamics Group Bhd and Green Ocean Corporation Bhd were flat at 11.5 sen and 4.5 sen respectively, while Rubberex Corporation Bhd improved two sen to RM1.42. – April 22, 2021
