KUALA LUMPUR (Aug 7): Shares in gold-related counters such as listed jewellers Poh Kong Holdings Bhd and Tomei Consolidated Bhd, as well as MUI Properties Bhd (MUI Prop), have continued to rally on the back of trading interest due to soaring gold prices over the past two weeks.

Shares in Poh Kong rose by 27.34% to an all-time high earlier this morning before paring some gains. At 10.41 am, it was still up by 37 sen or 26.62% at RM1.76, making it the fourth top gainer on Bursa Malaysia, with some 36.3 million shares traded.

MUI Prop, whose exposure to gold is by way of its 40.7% stake in Australian-listed gold exploration company Nex Metals Explorations Ltd, saw its shares 19.05% or eight sen higher at 50 sen — a two decade high — with some 47.38 million shares traded.

Meanwhile, Sabah-based Bahvest Resources Bhd (formerly known as Borneo Aqua Harvest Bhd), which diversified into gold mining from the fishery business a few years earlier, also hit a record high, jumping 12.5 sen or 18.38% to 80.5 sen.

Niche Capital Emas Holdings Bhd, another little-known listed jewelry company, rose 25 sen or 108.7% to a nearly 11-year high of 48 sen, with 284.86 million shares traded.

Meanwhile, well-known jeweller Tomei, which remained unchanged at RM1.53 so far today, had also hit an all-time high. The counter, which had been hovering below 60 sen for over two years, tripled its share price in the matter of two weeks.

At the time of writing, Bloomberg data showed that the spot gold price was US$3.12 (RM13.10) per ounce higher at US$2,066.66. Year to date, the gold price had shot up by 36% from US$1,517.27 per ounce.

Interestingly, the spot gold price breached the US$1,900 level on July 24 after the same was last seen in September 2011. Subsequently, the spot gold price went past the US$2,000 level on Tuesday to settle at a record high.