KUALA LUMPUR (Nov 11): Share prices of rubber glove makers were on the rise in the morning session today, as investors see the strengthening U.S. dollar as a boon for the export-oriented stocks.

At 11.39 a.m., Top Glove Corp Bhd rose 21 sen or 4.2% to RM5.21, with some 10.4 million shares done. Earlier, the counter gained as much as 22 sen to touch a five-month high of RM5.22.

Meanwhile, Kossan Rubber Industries Bhd gained 10 sen or 1.5% to RM6.89, while Supermax Corp Bhd gained 7 sen or 3.2% to RM2.26.

TA Securities analyst Wilson Loo said the rise in the rubber glove stocks is mainly due to the sentiment on the ringgit.

"Export-oriented counters usually appreciate when the ringgit weakens, as seen in the sharp increase in the share prices of the glove makers, following the weakening of the ringgit against the U.S. dollar,” he told theedgemarkets.com.

He pointed out that Top Glove’s sales, for example, are almost entirely denominated in U.S. dollars.

At the time of writing, the ringgit depreciated 1% against the greenback, at 4.3230. 

The ringgit had earlier weakened as much as 1.6% to 4.3700 against the strengthening dollar, in anticipation that the U.S. will raise interest rates in the near term, as the U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s expansionary fiscal policy would lead to inflation.