Surging Covid cases globally send medical supplier stocks higher in Singapore

Surging Covid cases globally send medical supplier stocks higher in Singapore

Latex gloves are filled with water in a watertight test room at a Top Glove factory in Selangor, Malaysia, on Dec. 3, 2015.

SINGAPORE “” Shares of several medical suppliers in Singapore have jumped this month, coinciding with a renewed surge in daily global Covid-19 infections.

Singapore-listed shares of Top Glove, the world's largest medical glove maker, have risen 18.4% as of Thursday from its March 31 close. The company's shares in Malaysia, where it's based, jumped 24.3% in the same period.

Other medical supplier stocks in Singapore that have surged this month include:

These stocks have all outperformed the benchmark Straits Times Index, which inched 0.7% higher between March 31 and Thursday. They have also been among the 100 most traded stocks in the Singapore market this year, Geoff Howie, market strategist at the Singapore Exchange, told CNBC in an email. 

Howie said a resurgence in daily confirmed Covid-19 cases and concerns about vaccine safety may have driven investors' interests in those stocks.