By Chester Tay

KUALA LUMPUR--Malaysia's glove sector is attracting renewed buying interest as a surge in Covid-19 cases across Europe sparked bargain hunting in shares of glove makers that have been battered by a weak price outlook.

Top Glove Corp. Bhd., the world's largest glove maker, are 7.8% higher in midmorning Malaysia trade, while Hartalega Holdings Bhd. is up 4.1% and Kossan Rubber Industries Bhd. gains 4.4%.

Supermax Corp Bhd., which recently got banned from exporting its products to the U.S. due to alleged forced labor practices, jumps 8.7%.

Rakuten Trade vice president of equities research Thong Pak Leng attributes the strength to bargain hunting, noting that share prices of all four glove makers have fallen at least 50% so far this year.

Malacca Securities senior analyst Kenneth Leong, however, says the rally might also be due to the better-than-expected outcome from the MSCI Equity Index November review.

Kossan Rubber and Supermax were both removed from the MSCI Global Standard Index during the review, while Inari Amertron Bhd., an outsourced semiconductor assembly and test services provider, joined, he said. Both Top Glove and Hartalega remained part of the index.

Write to Chester Tay at chester.tay@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

11-11-21 2204ET