KUALA LUMPUR (Aug 11): The FBM KLCI rose 0.31% in early trade, tracking firmer regional markets, lifted by gains led by index-linked glove makers.

Supermax Corp Bhd was the top gainer in early trade this morning, coming on the heels of its record quarterly net profit of RM399.62 million in 4QFY20. The stock rose RM2.10 to RM23.30.

At 9.05am, the benchmark index rose 4.95 points to 1,576.61.

The top gainers included Supermax, Top Glove Corp Bhd, Kossan Rubber Industries Bhd and Hartalega Holdings Bhd.

Bloomberg said Asian stocks opened modestly firmer Tuesday after a lackluster session on Wall Street.

Crude oil extended gains and the dollar was near a one-week high, it said.

Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd in its daily market report said Wall Street ended mostly higher as hopes that an agreement can be attained between Trump and the Senate over the latest Covid-19 stimulus package.

It said the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 350 points to almost the 27,800 level while Nasdaq declined to below the 11,000 threshold.

“Nonetheless, we reckon regional markets to remain mixed amid the political situation between China and the US.

“Though the FBM KLCI saw some late buying yesterday, we believe prevailing consolidation to persist amid the ongoing profit taking activities amongst the glove companies.

“As such, we expect the FBM KLCI to trend between the 1,565 and 1,580 range today,” it said.