Malaysian share prices closed 0.28 percent higher on Friday, with strong retail investor interest in Mesdaq board stocks and other lower-liners, dealers said. Trading volume surpassed the one-billion shares mark for the fourth consecutive session, they said.
The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index was up 2.65 points at 943.71. Volume was 1.51 billion shares worth 1.28 billion ringgit (0.349 billion dollars). Gainers led losers 474 to 349 with 258 stocks unchanged and 240 untraded.
The ringgit was at 3.6690 to the dollar and 4.4768 to the euro.
"Although the market is entering a consolidation phase, the overall sentiment is still bullish as indicated by the heavy trading volume," said a dealer with a local brokerage.
"Selling pressure seems to be well-absorbed as evident with the market's ability to pick itself up" from early losses and close on a positive note, he noted. Among blue chips, Telekom Malaysia closed up 0.05 ringgit at 9.60 and Tenaga Nasional was 0.05 ringgit lower at 8.60 while Maybank was flat at 11.20.
Casino operator Genting firmed 0.80 ringgit to 25.50 while Resorts World was up 0.20 or 1.52 percent at 13.40.
Bursa Malaysia, which operates the Malaysian stock exchange, was up 0.15 ringgit at 6.60 ringgit on a stronger earnings outlook after the record turnover on the exchange in the past few days.