Malaysian shares ended 0.58 percent higher Monday due to buying interest in banks, plantation and construction stocks. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index gained 7.35 points to close at 1,278.31. Investors took their cue from Wall Street's rise Friday, coupled with firmer regional markets.
There were 413 gainers and 282 losers. "Follow-through interest is likely to drive the market higher tomorrow and the benchmark is likely to test new highs for the year, but we cannot (then) discount some profit-taking," a dealer was quoted by Dow Jones Newswires as saying. Bank stocks were among most actively traded with Affin Holdings adding 12.8 percent at 2.64 ringgit on merger speculation, Banking group CIMB rose 2.8 percent at 13.28 on its dual listing plan in Thailand.