By FARA AISYAH

Lafarge Malaysia Bhd said it was unaware of the reasons behind the sudden rise of its share price and the interest in the stocks which jumped to a six-month high yesterday.

The share price of the cement company increased 17.5% or 35 sen to close at RM2.35 in heavy trading. It hit a high of RM2.60.

The company was responding to the unusual market activity (UMA) by the stock market operator following the sharp increase in its share price.

Lafarge told Bursa Malaysia in an exchange filing that it had sought clarifications from its directors, major shareholders and such other relevant persons.

“There is no corporate development relating to Lafarge group’s business and affairs that has not been previously announced that may account for the UMA.

“The board is not aware of any rumour or report concerning the business and affairs of the Lafarge group that may account for the UMA,” it said.

It added that the board is not aware of any other possible explanation to account for the UMA other than what has been disclosed, and the board also wishes to confirm that Lafarge complies with Paragraph 9.03 of the Main Market Listing Requirements of Bursa Securities on immediate disclosure obligations.

In a different filing yesterday, the company said the regulator has requested it to respond, after making due enquiry with its directors, major shareholders and such other relevant persons, to the following queries immediately for public release.

Bursa Malaysia also asked if Lafarge is aware of any other possible explanation to account for the trading activity and whether the company is in compliance with the Bursa Securities Listing Requirements.

The counter was among  Bursa Malaysia top gainers yesterday and is now valued at RM2 billion.

The technical indicators for the counter showed a ‘Strong Buy’ with a 14-day Relative Strength Index of 66.26, moving average convergence/divergence of 0.14 and 14-day ave-rage directional index of 62.27, among others.