Malaysian share prices closed O.17 percent higher Friday due to follow-through buying driven by the ringgit's strength against the dollar which outweighed inflation fears, dealers said.
They said foreign funds were seen buying blue chip stocks on renewed confidence that the Malaysian economy was still on a strong footing, despite inflationary concerns stemming from the latest spike in global oil prices.
The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index rose 1.57 points to 948.19 and volume was 1.22 billion shares worth 1.22 billion ringgit (330 dollars) while gainers outnumbered losers 429 to 359.
"Investors seemed to have put aside inflationary worries as Premier Abdullah (Ahmad Badawi) has reiterated Malaysians will not be subjected to a new round of fuel hikes this year," a local brokerage dealer said.
"In fact, to a large extent, the market has already factored in inflationary concerns, so much so that Thursday's announcement of a higher-than-expected March inflation (rate) of 4.8 percent failed to dampened buying sentiment," he added.
Among blue chips, Telekom Malaysia was flat at 9.80 ringgit, Tenaga Nasional was down 0.05 ringgit at 8.60, while Malayan Banking was up 0.10 at 11.20.
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