Malaysian share prices closed up 1.7 percent on Wednesday due to bargain-hunting in selected blue chips on the back of strong gains on Wall Street, dealers said. But they said fears of rising inflation kept trading volumes low.
The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index gained 18.56 points to 1,139.81 and volume was 387 million shares, valued at 932 million ringgit (286 million dollars) while advancers led decliners 412 to 201. "Although volume is still low, today's market strength is encouraging. Hopefully, the momentum can continue on Thursday," a trader told Dow Jones Newswires.
Dealers said the bourse was expected to trade between 1,122 and 1,149 points Thursday. Power utility giant Tenaga gained 5.2 percent at 8.15 ringgit, Genting added 6.5 percent at 5.70. Telekom rose 4.2 percent at 6.20 ringgit and top bank Maybank added 2.1 percent at 7.15.