KUALA LUMPUR (Jan 22): The main index of Bursa Malaysia reclaimed the 1600-point threshold in the mid-morning today as index-linked glove makers advanced in tandem with rising coronavirus cases in the country.

At 10am, the FBM KLCI was up 6.82 points at 1,601.62.

Gainers led losers by 398 to 357, while 392 counters traded unchanged. Trading volume was 1.76 billion shares valued at RM848.39 million.

The top gainers included Unisem (M) Bhd, Malaysian Pacific Industries Bhd, Hartalega Holdings Bhd, Nestle (Malaysia) Bhd, ViTrox Corp Bhd, Supermax Corp Bhd, Public Bank Bhd and Top Glove Corp Bhd.

The actively traded stocks included Dagang NeXchange Bhd (DNeX), Vsolar Group Bhd, Dynaciate Group Bhd, KTG Bhd and Lambo Group Bhd.

The decliners included KESM Industries Bhd, KPower Bhd. Petronas Chemicals Group Bhd (PetChem), Hap Seng Consolidated Bhd, Petronas Gas Bhd (PetGas) and AEON Credit Service (M) Bhd.

Bloomberg said Asian stocks pulled back from an all-time high in early trading today as investors assessed earnings, prospects for stimulus and escalating coronavirus cases.

The US dollar was on course to decline for its first week in three, it was reported.

JF Apex Research said US markets were flat overnight amid corporate earnings and with investors looking forward to President Joe Biden's stimulus plan.

It said that earlier, European stocks declined after the European Central Bank (ECB) kept interest rates unchanged.

“On the local market, the KLCI lost 6.74 points or 0.42% to 1,594.80 points [yesterday].

“Following the mixed performances in the US and Europe, the KLCI could remain lacklustre and test the support [level] of 1,590 points,” the research house said.