Malaysian share prices closed 0.2 percent higher on Wednesday, after rebounding from an intraday low on expectations that the government will cut fuel prices at the end of the day, dealers said. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index added 2.22 points to close at 1,028.40, off an intraday low of 1019.31.
Gainers led losers 335 to 205, with 201 counters unchanged. Turnover for the day was 450.3 million shares worth 740 million ringgit (216.2 million dollars). Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi announced after the market closed that petrol prices will be reduced by 3.9 percent or 10 sen to 2.45 ringgit (0.72 dollars) effective Thursday, on easing global crude oil prices. The price of diesel will also be cut by 10 sen to 2.40 ringgit, he said.
"The market strengthened in the afternoon on expectations of this news as lower fuel costs mean less pressure on inflation," a dealer told Dow Jones Newswires. The dealer however warned that gains may not be sustainable as there are still lingering concerns over the US financial system and the local political scene remains uncertain. Earlier the government said inflation had hit a 26-year high of 8.5 percent in August, driven by the escalating cost of fuel and food.
Among top gainers for the day, Bumi-Commerce gained 1.9 percent at 8.00 ringgit, dairy giant Nestle was 0.9 percent higher at 27.00 ringgit, Scomi added 12.2 percent at 55 sen and Dialog added 8.2 percent at 1.05 ringgit. Among losers plantation company IOI Corp shed 1.3 percent at 4.50 ringgit, Resorts World lost 1.9 percent at 2.57 ringgit, YTL Power was down 0.6 percent at 1.78 ringgit while Telekom Malaysia shed 3.0 percent at 3.22 ringgit.