Top Glove Corp jumped as much as 7.8% after its American depositary receipt soared 69% on Friday.
Mobile phone stocks DiGi.Com and Maxis each added more than 1%. The FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI Index gained 0.7% as some investors looked past the lockdown with the benchmark index trading near the lowest level in more than a year.
The market has been “trending down the past few months, where it has attracted some bargain hunters,” said Areca Capital chief executive officer Danny Wong.
“I remain positive on the Malaysian market with the recovery of earnings and business confidence once the vaccination is carried out more effectively in the next few months.”
Malaysia’s stock benchmark has fallen almost 6% from its December low amid concern over the government’s handling of the pandemic and rising political risks.
Last Friday, the government announced that it was extending the lockdown for another two weeks as daily infections remained elevated. The country returned to a hard lockdown this month after new cases topped a record 9,000 by end-May.
The first phase of the lockdown, which was due to end today, will continue until June 28, senior minister for security Ismail Sabri Yaakob said in a statement on Friday.
Only essential sectors can operate under the renewed restrictions, while movement has been restricted to a 10km radius.
Meanwhile, the ringgit declined from the highest in more than a month, falling 0.1% to 4.1143 per dollar.
“The extension of the restrictions may weigh on the ringgit in the near term, though the impact is temporary,” said Qi Gao, a currency strategist at Scotiabank in Singapore.
The nation’s infection rate has fallen since the measures took effect on June 1, remaining below 1.0 as of Thursday, official data show. Still, cases remain above the 4,000 daily threshold set by the government to end the lockdown, health minister Adam Baba said last week. The country reported 5,304 new infections on Sunday.
The Malay rulers are set to convene on June 16 to discuss the measures taken to tackle the outbreak. This is after the king summoned party leaders individually amid public anger over the government’s handling of the pandemic.
When announcing the lockdown on May 29, Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin said the government plans to re-open economic sectors that don’t involve large crowds if infections dropped after two weeks. This so-called second phase of the lockdown was to last for four weeks.
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