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KUALA LUMPUR (Nov 20): Rubber glove makers Top Glove Corp Bhd, Hartalega Holdings Bhd and Supermax Corp Bhd were among Bursa Malaysia’s top winners in today’s morning trading in the hunt for bargains and as the Increase in the number of global Covid-19 cases reviewed investors’ optimism fueled by vaccines.
At 10:27 am, Hartalega added 40 sen or 2.84% to RM14.50, Supermax rose 39 sen or 5.03% to RM8.15 while Top Glove was 19 sen or 2.74% higher at RM7.13.
Investors looked to glove maker stocks today following a drop in glove prices, as news of the encouraging results from the Covid-19 vaccine trials appears to dent optimism about demand for gloves to slow down. the spread of the pandemic.
News of the Covid-19 vaccine trials has been closely followed under the collaboration of Pfizer Inc-BioNTech and Moderna Inc.
It was reported yesterday that Pfizer and BioNTech said they could get an emergency clearance in the US and Europe for their Covid-19 vaccine next month after the final results of the trial showed it had a 95% success rate and no serious side effects.
Moderna was reported to release preliminary data for its vaccine on Monday showing a 94.5% effectiveness.
“Pfizer said it expects to produce up to 50 million doses of vaccines this year, enough to protect 25 million people, and then produce up to 1.3 billion doses in 2021,” Reuters reported.
In Malaysia, RHB Investment Bank Bhd said yesterday that the deployment of the Covid-19 vaccine could be a new source of demand for rubber gloves of up to 18 billion pieces a year, assuming 60% of the world’s population of 7.5 One billion people will receive the vaccine in two doses. annually.
“As each contact with a person must lead to the use of a pair of disposable gloves, the deployment of a vaccine will generate a demand of 18 billion pieces per year in the short term. If the protection period of the vaccine is only of up to one year, this 18 demand for 1 billion pieces per year will be repeated annually. This is equivalent to 6.8% of global glove demand of 263 billion pieces per year in 2019, “wrote Alan Lim, analyst at RHB, on a note.
As glove-related stock prices rise, analysts are aware of the broader market and economic impact of the growing number of global Covid-19 cases.
Reuters reported today that positive news about potential vaccines had helped propel the MSCI world index to a record high earlier in the week, but investors backed away when a number of countries announced record infection rates and tighter lockdowns to slow the spread. of the virus.
On the Malaysian stock market, Hong Leong Investment Bank Bhd analyst Ng Jun Sheng wrote in a note today that the investment bank reiterated his view that the local stock market is ready for further consolidation of profit-taking. after the FBM KLCI rallied from a low of 1,452 points high of 1,613, due to factors including lingering concerns about a fragile global economic outlook due to rising Covid-19 infections and further lockdowns.
“Key supports are pegged at 1,576-1,555-1,535 levels, while resistances are near 1,600-1,618-1,633 levels,” said Ng.
In Bursa Malaysia today, the 30-share KLCI rose 4.55 points or 0.29% to 1588.23 at 11:01 a.m. while the Bursa Health Index, whose components include manufacturers of rubber gloves, rose 50.82 points or 1.3% to 3,954. .54.
Top Glove and Hartalega are also members of KLCI.
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