Malaysian shares rebound

Malaysian share prices rebounded to close 2.8 percent higher on Tuesday as investors picked up blue chips after steep losses a day earlier, dealers said. Construction stocks, which saw the biggest falls yesterday, led gainers, along with plantation stocks, they said.
The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index gained 33.32 points to 1,206.54, off a high of 1,212.46 and a low of 1,163.98 on volume of 1.1 billion shares valued at 2.7 billion ringgit (844 million dollars). Advancers led decliners 709 to 159.
The ringgit closed at 3.1990/2020. "This is only a technical rebound but it may last a few days after Monday's steep losses," said Phua Kwee Hock, an analyst at SJ Securities.
Phua said in the near-term, though, the market will continue to consolidate due to the uncertain outlook after the ruling party's devastating loss in the March 8 polls. "We expect a fairly long period of consolidation after the initial technical rebound as the country adjusts to the new political landscape," he said.