KUALA LUMPUR (Oct 2): The main index at Bursa Malaysia reversed its earlier loss and climbed above the 1,500-level at the midday break as index-linked healthcare stocks rose.

At 12.30pm, the FBM KLCI ticked up 3.39 points to 1,500.16. The index had earlier slipped to a low of 1,489.66.

The healthcare index gained 1.12% or 42.63 points to 3,482.80.

Among the gainers, Hartalega Holdings Bhd rose 72 sen to RM16.98, Kossan Rubber Industries Bhd was up 42 sen at RM13.92, Supermax Corp Bhd added 30 sen to RM8.72 and Top Glove Corp Bhd rose 18 sen to RM8.61.

Other gainers included UWC Bhd, G3 Global Bhd, Comfort Gloves Bhd, Scientex Bhd, Careplus Group Bhd and Malaysian Pacific Industries Bhd.

The actively traded stocks included XOX Bhd, Bintai Kinden Corp Bhd, Iris Corp Bhd, Kanger International Bhd, MMAG Holdings Bhd, HLT Global Bhd, Careplus and Fintec Global Bhd.

The decliners included Nestle (M) Bhd, Aeon Credit Service (M) Bhd, Fraser & Neave Holdings Bhd, Time dotCom Bhd, United Plantations Bhd, Public Bank Bhd and Pharmaniaga Bhd.

Losers edged gainers by 337 to 273, while 654 counters traded unchanged. Trading volume was 2.64 billion shares valued at RM1.73 billion.

Reuters said US stock futures dipped on Friday after President Donald Trump said he and his wife will quarantine after a close aide tested positive for the coronavirus.

Futures for the S&P 500 fell 0.39% in Asian trading after the news, extending earlier losses, while Treasury yields remained broadly unchanged, it said.

Hong Leong IB Research said the bulls attempted to push the KLCI above the 1,523 (downtrend line from 1,618) resistance in the last few days but buying momentum could not be sustained as concerns over a liquidity squeeze on the stock market after the expiry of six-month grace period for loan repayments, coupled with soaring coronavirus cases and clusters locally and the reintroduction of further MCOs will dampen the ongoing nascent economic recovery (World Bank had downgraded Malaysia’s 2020 GDP to -4.9% from -3.1% earlier).

“Nevertheless, the recent announcement of the RM10 billion Kita Prihatin package and expectation of further stimulus measures in Budget 2021 (on Nov 6) may cushion near-term downside.

“Major supports are pegged at 1,488-1,474-1,461 zones,” it said.