KUALA LUMPUR: Rubber glove makers on Bursa Malaysia advanced in the afternoon session on Friday, Oct 1 after CIMB Research maintained its overweight  on the sector and said that despite considerable headwinds encountered by the sector this year, demand for rubber gloves continued to grow at a healthy clip.

At 3.15pm, Supermax was up 15 sen to RM3.94, Hartalega gained 14 sen to RM4.84, Latexx rose 13 sen to RM2.57, Top Glove, Kossan and Adventa gained 10 sen each to RM5.23, RM3.07 and RM2.50, respectively, while Rubberex added three sen to 87 sen.

CIMB Research in a report on Friday said with continued technological advancement of glove products and facilities, Malaysian rubber glove manufacturers would maintain its leadership in the global market.

In light of the positive long term prospects of the industry, the research house maintained its overweight call. All the glove stocks under its coverage remain as Outperforms, said CIMB Research.

"Potential re-rating catalysts include the continuing uptick in demand from the healthcare industry, ongoing capacity expansion and strong earnings growth.

"The recent sharp pullback in share prices has made the sector even more attractive with undemanding average P/Es of 7-8 times. Supermax and Latexx remain our top picks," it said.