Malaysian share prices closed up 0.4 percent Wednesday after Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi announced the dissolution of parliament to pave the way for general elections, dealers said. They said caution ahead of the release of US retail sales data also affected sentiment.
The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index closed up 5.63 points at 1,423.15, off a high of 1,433.20 and a low of 1,414.10 with trading volume reaching 1.02 billion shares worth 2.1 billion ringgit (649 million dollars). Decliners led gainers 561 to 273, with 222 stocks unchanged and 335 counters untraded.
"I think there are some concerns on political stability now that the parliament has been dissolved ... but I think this is just a knee-jerk reaction which will not last," said Tee Sze Chiah, an analyst at Aseambankers.
"I expect the market to rebound very soon," he added. Among index heavyweights, state-controlled Telekom Malaysia was unchanged at 11.60 ringgit, national power utility Tenaga added five sen to 9.25 ringgit and Malaysia's largest bank, Maybank, was steady at 12.10 ringgit. At the close, the Malaysian ringgit was quoted at 3.2380/2410 against the US dollar.
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