Malaysian share prices closed 0.11 percent higher Friday but trade was sluggish as investors stayed on the sidelines amid concerns about rising oil prices and Malaysia's haze crisis, dealers said. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index was up 0.99 points to 937.04. Volume was 347.48 million shares, worth 472.65 million ringgit (126.04 dollars).
Losers outnumbered gainers 367 to 345, while 315 stocks were unchanged and 293 non-traded. Trading held to a range of 4.05 points, with the index moving between 934.17 and 938.22.
Malaysia on Thursday declared a state of emergency in the towns of Port Klang and Kuala Selangor on its west coast after the air pollution index breached the emergency level of 500. Dealers noted there was light trading in blue chips, while some interest was seen in situational stocks.
At the close, the ringgit was at 3.7505 against the US dollar and 4.68 to the euro.
"Rising oil prices, haze and the long weekend have prompted investors to adopt a 'wait-and-see' stance, refraining from trading," a local brokerage dealer said.
He said that for next week he predicts rangebound trade, with crucial support at 930 points while the index will try to break through the 940-942 resistance level.