BURSA Malaysia today bucked the regional trend to open higher, as bargain hunters make a comeback for rubber gloves-linked stocks, led by Top Glove and Hartalega, after both counters succumbed to profit-taking on Friday.

At 9.05am, market benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI rose 4.59 points, or 0.29%, to 1,594.2 from 1,589.61 at the close last week.

Market breadth is positive with gainers outnumbering losers 305 to 168, while 290 counters are unchanged, untraded (1,246) and suspended (28).

Volume stands at 646.61 million units worth RM330.83 million.

Gains by heavyweights are led by Top Glove, which rose 46 sen to RM25.90, and Hartalega, which added 14 sen to RM17.82. Both counters are also among the top gainers on the local bourse.

Maxis advanced five sen to RM5.30, Tenaga (eight sen to RM11.32) and Petronas Dagangan (10 sen to RM20.72).

The top gainers are dominated by gloves-linked counters that include Kossan, bagging 46 sen to RM14.26, Careplus (41 sen to RM2.87), Comfort (17 sen to RM4.37), Supermax (16 sen to RM17.30) and Rubberex (13 sen to RM3.71).

The gains on the local exchange come amid cautious trading sentiment in the region due to increased tensions between the US and China. – Bernama, July 27, 2020.