Malaysian shares soar

Malaysian share prices closed 1.6 percent higher on Thursday as buying interest from local government-led funds lifted blue chips and index-linked heavyweights, dealers said. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index rose 13.61 points to close at 869.98. "Market sentiment improved with China's decision to cut interest rates and the strong performance on Wall Street overnight," one dealer told Dow Jones Newswires.
"But the biggest push came in the last hour of trade with local government-led funds lifting some heavyweights. The market may remain buoyant tomorrow ahead of third quarter GDP data," he said. Among advancing stocks, IOI Corp rose 5.4 percent at 3.14 ringgit, Gamuda jumped 5.6 percent to 1.70 ringgit and Bumiputra-Commerce gained 3.4 percent to 6.05 ringgit.