Glove makers’ shares rise amid Coronavirus fears

Kuala Lumpur – Shares of rubber glove makers in southeast Asia have soared as the outbreak of deadly Coronavirus takes more tolls globally.

Malaysia’s Top Glove saw share prices reached an all-time high of MYR6.00 on the Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange on 28 Jan, before closing at MYR5.85 at the end of the week 31 Jan. 

That still represented a 25% rise in the value of Top Glove share sat the end of January compared to just the levels recorded of the KLSE just two weeks earlier 

Also on the Malaysia exchange, Kossan Rubber Industries saw a 17% hike in its stock price, while Hartalega Holdings recorded an 8% increase over the final two weeks of last month.

Over the same timeframe, Bangkok-listed Sri Trang Agro saw the value of its shares increase by 29% to THB13.00 compared to THB10.10 a 29% increase.

Recently identified virus 2019-nCoV was first reported in the Chinese city of Wuhan at the end of December last year. The World Health Organisation has now described the disease as “a global emergency”.

By the end of January, the latest WHO estimates put the number of confirmed cases of the disease at 7,800 globally, with at least 170 people dead.