Malaysian share prices closed 1.13 percent higher on Wednesday in heavy trade as a recent improvement in investor sentiment picked up further in a laggard market, dealers said.
Volume hit an all time high on interest in lower-liners, while blue chips also attracted some institutional buying in overall activity that reflected recent positive news, dealers said.
The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index gained 10.5 points at 941.67 on record volume of 2.01 billion shares worth 1.54 billion ringgit (419 million dollars).
The previous record volume swas 1.601 billion shares on July 12, 1999.
Gainers led losers 688 to 208, with 224 stocks unchanged and 201 untraded.
The ringgit continued its gains, trading at 3.6715 to the dollar, a new high since it was depegged from the US currency in July last year.
"Aggressive retail participation in lower-liner stocks pushed volume to record highs," a local brokerage dealer said.
The head of a local research firm said the high volume reflected the "accumulated effect" of positive news including the much-anticipated rationalisation of domestic air routes, the strengthening ringgit and the government's newly-unveiled five-year development plan.
He said the market would likely gather more momentum in the coming days.
Among blue chips, Telekom Malaysia closed up 0.15 ringgit at 9.60 and Tenaga Nasional added 0.15 at 8.70 while Malayan Banking gained 0.20 to 11.20.
Dealers said energy company Tenaga may be gaining over hopes for a tariff hike by the company.
AirAsia was up 0.08 ringgit at 1.85 on a report its chief executive officer Tony Fernandes is venturing into the budget hotel business to complement the carrier's operations.
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