Bursa Continues Uptrend, Hovers Near 1,600 Level

 KUALA LUMPUR: Profit-taking halted the rally on Bursa Malaysia as global markets tracked Wall Street lower amid rising coronavirus cases. Bursa Malaysia climbed higher today on optimism over Covid-19 recovery after Gilead Sciences reported some positive developments on clinical trial data. At 12.30pm, the FBM KLCI was down 8.99 points to 1,601.16 as investors sought safety in the 1,600 psychological level following recent gains. Market breadth was positive with gainers outpaced losers 380 to 164, while 299 counters were unchanged, 1,111 untraded, and 22 others suspended. Malacca Securities said US stock markets rebounded as the Dow surged 1.4 percent, reclaiming the 26,000 psychological level after Gilead Sciences said Remdesivir reduced risk death in Covid-19 patients with more studies needed. 

"Still, further upsides remain on the table over signs of a resurgence in bargain-hunting in glove-related stocks amid their attractive valuations, coupled with strong near-term fundamentals" Overnight, Wall Street retreated as several US states imposed restrictions on gatherings following another surge in Covid-19 cases. The pullback offset the euphoria experienced by global markets as Pfizer and Moderna announced breakthroughs in the development of a vaccine.

Malaysian financial counters, which marched higher in light of the news, slumped on Wednesday. Maybank fell 14 sen to RM8.16, Public Bank dropped 12 sen to RM18.78, RHB lost 11 sen to RM5.18 and CIMB slid nine sen to RM3.71. Hong Leong Bank bucked the trend to gain 10 sen to RM18. Meanwhile, Top Glove's share price stabilized after a rout yesterday on a drop-in sentiment over latex gloves demand and news that a portion of the group's workforce would be put in quarantine for Covid-19 infections.

Among heavyweights, Top Glove rose RM1.20 to RM23.12, Hartalega was 54 sen higher at RM17.60 and PetChem added eight sen to RM6.38.

Oil prices, however, were down ahead of a meeting of top producers this week. In contrast, Maybank and Tenaga shed two sen each to RM7.88 and RM11.34 respectively, while Public Bank reduced 22 sen to RM18.28. Of the most active, PDZ Holdings rose 10.5 sen to 31 sen. Vivocom was half-a-sen better at 4.5 sen and VSolar went down one sen to 4.5 sen. On the index board, the FBM Emas was 68.55 points improved at 11,275.36, the FBMT 100 Index expanded 68.26 points to 11,129.64 and the FBM Emas Shariah Index jumped 130.33 points to 12,942.28. 

The FBM 70 rose sharply by 155.72 points to 13,972.57 while the FBM ACE went up 57.56 points to 7,233.21. Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index fell 24.50 points to 13,522.14, the Industrial Products and Services Index increased 0.61 of-a-point to 139.68 and the Plantation Index appreciated 82.09 points to 6,872.11. — Bernama