Malaysian stocks climb

Malaysian share prices closed 0.23 percent higher on Tuesday due to buying interest in selected blue chips, dealers said. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index closed up 2.23 points at 988.30 on turnover of 930.63 million shares worth 1.12 billion ringgit (320 million dollars) while losers outnumbered gainers 411 to 392, with 299 stocks unchanged.
At the close, the ringgit was quoted at 3.6525/6575 to the dollar. SBB Securities senior investment analyst Ng Jun Sheng said that he expects the market to trend higher for the near-term, mainly driven by an improving external environment and year-end window dressing activities by fund managers. Among heavyweights, Telekom Malaysia fell 0.05 ringgit to 8.75, energy firm Tenaga was steady at 10.00 ringgit and Maybank was flat at 11.20.