Dogged by selling pressure, Top Glove again settles in the red

KUALA LUMPUR (Nov 25): Top Glove Corp Bhd, which has continued to be dogged by selling pressure today, was the only one among the four big glove makers on Bursa Malaysia to end the day in the red at market close.

The stock finished 2.21% or 15 sen lower at RM6.65, as the world's largest rubber glove maker has had to temporarily shut 28 factories that represent 50% of its production capacity amid a spike in Covid-19 infection among its workers.

The eighth biggest loss-making counter on the local stock exchange today was also the 23rd most actively traded, with 76.23 million shares done.

At its present price, the glove maker's market capitalisation has been further trimmed to RM54.51 billion from RM55.73 billion yesterday, when it settled at RM6.80. The stock has fallen 22.4% so far this month. It closed at RM8.57 on Oct 31.

The stock opened the trading day a marginal 0.29% higher at RM6.82 per share. However, it soon slipped to an intra-day low of RM6.60 at 9.30am. It pared some losses to settle at RM6.66 by the end of morning trades, before slipping again to close at RM6.65 at 5pm.

In contrast, Hartalega Holdings Bhd was up by 1.27% or 18 sen at RM14.36, yielding a market capitalisation of RM49.22 billion, after 5.03 million shares were done.

Supermax Corp Bhd closed 0.12% or one sen higher at RM8.08, giving it a market value of RM21.98 billion after 12.50 million shares were traded. Kossan Rubber Industries Bhd settled 3 sen higher at RM6.03, for a market cap of RM15.42 billion, with 6.78 million shares exchanged.

Still, Top Glove isn't the only glove maker to see declines today, as news of vaccine discovery weighed on the segment. Two of three smaller listed glove makers — Comfort Gloves Bhd and Careplus Group Bhd — also fell. Comfort Gloves slipped 0.54% or two sen to RM3.67, while Careplus finished 0.38% or one sen lower at RM2.64. Rubberex Corp Bhd was the only one unchanged at RM1.93.

The declines seen among the glove makers contributed to the Healthcare Index's marginal decline of 0.05% or 1.94 points today, to 3,895.10.

In a bourse filing yesterday, Top Glove said 16 of the 28 facilities in Meru, Klang that the government ordered to shut in stages to curb the spread of the coronavirus had already halted production since Nov 17. The balance 12 facilities currently operate at about 20% capacity, it said, and were subject to staged closures for its employees to be screened for Covid-19 and for a thorough sanitisation, before re-opening.

It also estimated that the temporary closure would trim its annual revenue by 3% for the financial year ending Aug 31, 2021 (FY21).