KUALA LUMPUR (April 27): There was profit taking on some glove counters today, with three out of the top four glove makers emerging on the list of top 10 losers this afternoon.
“Stock prices of glove stocks have gained in the past few trading days, hence some short-term traders might be taking some profit off the table,” said MIDF Research analyst Ng Bei Shan.
Earlier this morning, all of the major four rubber glove stocks — namely Top Glove Corp Bhd, Hartalega Holdings Bhd, Supermax Corp Bhd and Kossan Rubber Industries Bhd — opened higher, with some plunging into negative territory by mid-morning.
At the time of writing today, Hartalega, Supermax and Kossan were among the top 10 losers.
Hartalega had declined 42 sen or 3.76% to RM10.76, giving it a market capitalisation of RM36.96 billion.
Supermax dropped 22 sen or 3.5% to RM6.06, valuing the company at RM16 billion.
Meanwhile, shares in Kossan had fallen 17 sen or 3.61% to RM4.54, giving it a market capitalisation of RM11.61 billion.
On the other hand, shares in Top Glove, the world’s largest glove manufacturer, which recently just resolved all 11 International Labour Organization (ILO) indicators of forced labour, traded 10 sen or 1.69% lower at RM5.82 at the time of writing. Its market capitalisation stood at RM46.5 billion.
At 3.45pm, Bursa’s Healthcare Index, which includes glove manufacturers, pharmaceutical companies and hospital operators, was lower as glove stocks dragged the benchmark index down in the broader market.
Just yesterday, the Healthcare Index closed 3.1% or 101.56 points up at a two-month high of 3,382.38, and the big four rubber glove stocks, namely Top Glove, Hartalega , Supermax and Kossan, were among the top gainers yesterday.