Malaysian share prices closed 0.33 percent higher on Friday on a technical rebound driven by gains in construction and property stocks, dealers said. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index gained 4.54 points to 1,373.84. Volume traded was 1.3 billion shares worth 1.97 billion ringgit, while gainers led losers 596 to 315 and 284 stocks were unchanged.
At the close, the ringgit was quoted at 3.4460/4500 against the dollar. Phua Kwee Hock, technical chartist at SJ Securities, said speculative interest in small-capitalised stocks also helped the market. "The market got a boost today from retail speculative play on some lower liners as evidenced by the big trading band of some of these stocks," Phua said.
An investment analyst said market sentiment improved as Thursday's fall had been regarded as excessive. Among index heavyweights, national Power Company Tenaga closed up 0.10 ringgit at 11.20 while Maybank, the country's top lender by assets, was flat at 12.20 ringgit. Telekom Malaysia, the largest telecommunications company in Malaysia, was steady at 10.60 ringgit.