Malaysian shares closed up 0.52 percent on Thursday as heavyweights and selected lower liners provided positive sentiment, dealers said. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index gained 6.27 points to 1,208.35 with a volume of 523.58 million shares worth 823.30 million ringgit (237.30 million dollars). There were 287 gainers, 322 losers and 229 counters traded unchanged.
Advancers include telecommunications company Axiata which rose 1.6 percent to 3.15 ringgit while gaming giant Genting Malaysia climbed 1.1 percent to 2.77 ringgit. On the downside, budget carrier AirAsia was down 0.7 percent at 1.39 ringgit as construction company SapuraCrest slid 0.5 percent to 1.90 ringgit.