Malaysian shares rose 1.9 percent Friday in thin volume after the government announced it will unveil a "mini budget" to stimulate growth, dealers said. Deputy Prime Minister Najib Razak, who is also the finance minister said the government will meet next Tuesday to decide a date to announce the budget details. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index gained 16.69 points to close at 896.64.
Volume stood at 397.70 million shares valued at 664.16 million ringgit (184 million dollars) while gainers outnumbered losers 322 to 156. Among gainers, IOI Corp rose 4.4 percent to 3.84, Sime Darby gained 3.7 percent to 5.60 and TM International added 5.0 percent to 3.34.
Bumiputra-Commerce gained 4.6 percent to 6.80. On the downside, IGB shed 2.1 percent to 1.38, DiGi.com lost 0.5 percent to 21.0, Bintulu Port eased 0.9 percent to 5.25. The bourse is shut for a public holiday Monday.