<p>Malaysian retail investors joined forces on social media and pushed up stocks of under-pressure rubber glove makers on Friday, taking inspiration from the recent GameStop trading phenomenon in the US.</p>.<p>Shares of the US video game shop chain surged from less than $20 to a peak of $492 earlier this week, after millions of amateur investors active on online forum Reddit rallied together to punish short sellers by sending prices soaring.</p>.<p>In short-selling, investors borrow stock, sell it and then buy it back at a lower price, keeping the difference. But if a stock unexpectedly soars, then investors are forced to buy it back at a loss.</p>.<p>Inspired by the US movement, Malaysian mom-and-pop investors Thursday set up their own Reddit group, naming it BursaBets after the country's stock exchange.</p>.<p>Like the US group WallStreetBets, BursaBets became an online rallying spot for those urging people to buy and hold shares, in this case, targeting glove stocks.</p>.<p>Malaysia is the world's top producer of latex gloves, and major producers saw their shares jump last year on strong demand due to the coronavirus pandemic.</p>.<p>But the companies were hammered in recent weeks as vaccines became available and they were targeted by short sellers, after the government lifted a ban on the practice.</p>.<p>Top Glove, the world's biggest maker of rubber gloves, saw its stock soar almost 300 percent last year, but later fall by about 40 percent.</p>.<p>The day after the BursaBets group was set up, its stock rose over eight percent on the Kuala Lumpur stock exchange.</p>.<p>Rival companies also notched up strong gains -- Hartalega put on over five percent, and Supermax was up 3.6 percent.</p>.<p>"I believe the current price of gloves are very undervalued, and my personal stance is that I want to hold on to it until it gets to its fair value," said "_Revenant_", the founder of BursaBets which has over 6,800 members.</p>.<p>"I just want the market to realise that the valuations are too low and that our glove companies deserve better."</p>
<p>Malaysian retail investors joined forces on social media and pushed up stocks of under-pressure rubber glove makers on Friday, taking inspiration from the recent GameStop trading phenomenon in the US.</p>.<p>Shares of the US video game shop chain surged from less than $20 to a peak of $492 earlier this week, after millions of amateur investors active on online forum Reddit rallied together to punish short sellers by sending prices soaring.</p>.<p>In short-selling, investors borrow stock, sell it and then buy it back at a lower price, keeping the difference. But if a stock unexpectedly soars, then investors are forced to buy it back at a loss.</p>.<p>Inspired by the US movement, Malaysian mom-and-pop investors Thursday set up their own Reddit group, naming it BursaBets after the country's stock exchange.</p>.<p>Like the US group WallStreetBets, BursaBets became an online rallying spot for those urging people to buy and hold shares, in this case, targeting glove stocks.</p>.<p>Malaysia is the world's top producer of latex gloves, and major producers saw their shares jump last year on strong demand due to the coronavirus pandemic.</p>.<p>But the companies were hammered in recent weeks as vaccines became available and they were targeted by short sellers, after the government lifted a ban on the practice.</p>.<p>Top Glove, the world's biggest maker of rubber gloves, saw its stock soar almost 300 percent last year, but later fall by about 40 percent.</p>.<p>The day after the BursaBets group was set up, its stock rose over eight percent on the Kuala Lumpur stock exchange.</p>.<p>Rival companies also notched up strong gains -- Hartalega put on over five percent, and Supermax was up 3.6 percent.</p>.<p>"I believe the current price of gloves are very undervalued, and my personal stance is that I want to hold on to it until it gets to its fair value," said "_Revenant_", the founder of BursaBets which has over 6,800 members.</p>.<p>"I just want the market to realise that the valuations are too low and that our glove companies deserve better."</p>