Malaysian share prices closed 0.6 percent higher on Thursday, tracking regional gains as Wall Street continued to rally on hopes of a US interest rate cut next month, dealers said. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index rose 7.74 points at 1,374.32, off a high of 1,379.55.
Volume traded was 969.217 million shares valued at 1.559 billion ringgit (462.6 million dollars) while gainers led decliners 499 to 269 and 319 counters were unchanged.
Analysts said gains on the Malaysian bourse were relatively mild compared to other regional markets after the Dow Jones industrial average surged more than 2.6 percent to 13,289.45 on Wednesday. Among index heavyweights, state-run Telekom Malaysia was up 0.10 ringgit at 11.00 ringgit, while national power company Tenaga added 0.05 to 9.05 and Maybank was unchanged at 11.60.
National carmaker Proton was down 0.02 ringgit at 3.58 ringgit ahead of its second-quarter results due out after the market close Friday. It posted a first-quarter net loss of 46.75 million ringgit for the three months to June.