KUALA LUMPUR (Oct 13): Rubber glove manufacturers Supermax Corp Bhd and Kossan Rubber Industries Bhd gained after US reported its first Ebola case today.

At 12.30pm, Kossan settled at its intraday high of RM4.53, up 18 sen or 4%.

Supermax rose six sen or 2.6% to RM2.36. The counter had earlier risen to its intraday high of RM2.39.

Analysts said while the global Ebola outbreak was serious, gains in shares of certain glove companies like Kossan might be due to a technical rebound.

Last Tuesday (Oct 7), Kossan closed unchanged at RM4.60 before falling to RM4.24 the following day (Oct 8). The stock's price had subsequently risen to current levels.

All the shares were performing badly last week, and are now showing a recovery in their share prices, analysts said.

"I do not think the case of the Ebola virus diagnosed in the US pushed up their stock prices," TA Securities Holdings Bhd analyst Paul Yap said.

Yap said Ebola outbreak was serious, but its effects were not as widespread compared to the H1N1 outbreak back in 2011.

"Therefore, we do not see a significant increase in glove demand globally," he said.

Echoing Yap's view, RHB Research Institute Sdn Bhd analyst Jerry Lee said from the fundamental viewpoint, nothing much has changed since the Ebola outbreak.

"Among the four glove counters in the country, I think Kossan has better performance against the rest," Lee said.

Notable Malaysian rubber glove manufacturers also include Top Glove Corp Bhd and Hartalega Holdings Bhd.