Malaysian shares rose 1.08 percent on Wednesday due to gains in banks, construction heavyweights and government-linked stocks, dealers said. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index gained 13.33 points to a new closing high of 1,246.84. Advancers led losers 574 to 174.
"Some funds are positioning themselves ahead of the unveiling of the 2010 Budget (on October 23)," Dow Jones Newswires cited an institutional dealer at a bank-backed brokerage as saying. The dealer said the main hopes were for further liberalisation in the banking sector and the roll out of more infrastructure projects to drive economic growth.
Analysts said the bourse may extend gains and possibly test the 1,250 psychological resistance Thursday. Top bank Maybank was the top gainer, adding 3.3 percent to close at 6.96 ringgit. Supermax, a medical gloves producer, rose 3.8 percent to 3.32 ringgit, top builder IJM added 2.3 percent to 4.85 and newspaper publisher NSTP gained 9.6 percent to 2.51.