Glove shares continued to dominate the gainers list this morning as Covid-19 resurgence concerns linger. At 10.01am, Supermax Corp Bhd rose 23 sen or 4.51% to RM5.33. It was the second top gainer this morning.
KUALA LUMPUR (April 16): Bursa Malaysia was lower at mid-morning today amidst the mixed regional sentiment, as concerns over the resurgence in global Covid-19 cases affected investors’ risk appetites, dealers said.
Locally, the daily tally of new Covid-19 cases surged to 2,148 yesterday from 1,889 a day earlier. The last time the country recorded more than 2,000 daily cases was on March 5, with 2,154 cases.
At 11.01am, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) eased 3.46 points to 1,604.79 from Thursday’s close of 1,608.25.
Gains in Maxis Bhd and rubber glove stocks helped to cushion the downward slide.
Maxis rose seven sen to RM4.69, Supermax Corp Bhd advanced 20 sen to RM5.30 and Top Glove Corp Bhd gained six sen to RM5.50.
BUSINESSMAN Datuk Eddie Ong Choo Meng who, in the last few years, has invested in several public-listed companies that manufacture gloves, agrochemicals, furniture, plastic and industrial products has now ventured into fibre optics.
Last month, Datuk Seri Mukhriz Tun Dr Mahathir, son of former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, ceased to be a substantial shareholder of Opcom Holdings Bhd which he co-founded in 1994 after disposing of 24.63 million shares, or a 15.28% stake, in the fibre-optic manufacturer.
Few are aware that Ong was the buyer of that block of shares, which were acquired at 84 sen apiece, or a total of RM20.69 million, on Feb 10. This made him the largest shareholder of Opcom. Ong is also a major shareholder of listed companies such as Hextar Global Bhd, SCH Group Bhd, Rubberex Corp (M) Bhd and, most recently, SWS Capital Bhd.
THE earnings season for the fourth and final quarter of 2020 has yet to come to an end a one-month extension was given by the regulators as a temporary relief measure because of the Covid-19 pandemic but based on companies that have already submitted their reports, results are encouraging.
A quick look at 270 listed companies on Bursa Malaysia with a market capitalisation of RM500 million or more shows that 151 recorded an improvement in quarterly earnings while 119 reported a decline.
RHB Research, in a March 2 strategy note, describes the December 2020 quarter as encouraging, with 2021-2022 forecast core earnings still largely intact notwithstanding a last-minute RM2.83 billion global settlement provision by AMMB Holdings Bhd and excluding positive earnings revisions for rubber glove stocks.
Shares in Top Glove Corp Bhd gained as much as 4.76% in the afternoon session after posting another set of record quarterly results and dividend payout.