KUALA LUMPUR (July 3): Shares in DRB-Hicom Bhd rose 2.63% this morning following a positive technical outlook on the stock.

At 10.20am, DRB-Hicom rose 6 sen to RM2.34 with 4.96 million shares for a market capitalisation of RM4.52 billion.

At RM2.34, DRB-Hicom was trading at its highest level since August 2018.

Based on Bloomberg data, there are 2 “Buys’, 2 “Outperforms”, 2 “Holds” and one “Add” rating on the stock with target prices ranging from RM1.78 to RM3.05.

RHB Retail Research said DRB-Hicom Bhd may rise higher after it breached above the RM2.23 threshold.

In a trading stocks note today, the research house said with the 21-day SMA line edging upwards, this also implies a positive outlook sentiment.

“A positive bias may emerge above the RM2.23 level, with an exit set below the RM2.13 threshold.

“Towards the upside, the immediate resistance is at RM2.40 level. This is followed by the RM2.58 level,” it said.

Meanwhile, DRB-Hicom’s Perusahaan Otomobil Nasional Sdn Bhd (Proton) saw its June market share figure hitting 18.1% -- its highest since 47 months ago in July 2015 -- as it continued to record sales growth even as total industry volume shrunk by an estimated 30.8% to 42,090 units that month.

This pushed its year-to-date market share to 14.7%, which the company said is a "big improvement" from its 2018's 10.8% figure.

This comes after the company recorded its second highest sales figure this year of 7,615 units in June, a month after setting a sales high -- its best in 46 months -- of 10,611 units in May.

In tandem with the advance in DRB-Hicom’s shares, its 53.4% owned Pos Malaysia Bhd also rose 5.36% or 9 sen to RM1.77 with 3.94 million shares for a market capitalisation of RM1.39 billion.