KUALA LUMPUR (July 3): The FBM KLCI closed higher led by gains in glove counters which attracted fresh buying interest as prospects for the industry strengthened further amid rising COVID-19 cases globally.

The benchmark index closed 1.07% or 16.37 points higher at 1552.65.

Leading the KLCI today was Hartalega Holdings Bhd which rose 6.67% to RM16 and Top Glove Corp Bhd which climbed 5.49% to a new high of RM18.46.

Supermax Corp Bhd also hit a new high of RM9.43 before closing at RM9.41.

On the broader market, gainers outnumbered losers by 667 to 355, with 6.72 billion shares worth RM3.81 billion traded.

Maybank Investment Bank Bhd remisier Jeffry Azizi Jaafar said Malaysia’s success in curbing the spread of COVID-19 also boosted investor sentiment, as this will lead to the reopening of more economic sectors.

“Malaysia is aiming for zero cases for 28 days to be declared free of COVID-19. If Malaysia achieves the target, the economy can recover as soon as next year according to Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Economy) Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed,” he told theedgemarkets.com

There’s also a positive outlook on the technology sector, Jeffry added.

“AmInvestment Bank Bhd [in a report] today upgraded the sector from ‘neutral’ to ‘overweight’ as the sector remains resilient despite the COVID-19 pandemic impact. According to them, the attractive valuations make the sector interesting with stocks at lower side of price.

“Another factor is the performance of Nasdaq, which tracks performance of technology stocks in the US is at all-time high. This brings positive effect to technology stocks in Bursa Malaysia,” he added.