7:04 pm - Malaysian shares close higher led by gains in plantation stocks -

UPDATE KUALA LUMPUR (Thomson Financial) - Malaysian shares closed higher Thursday on follow-through buying in plantation and construction stocks, with gains in select blue chips also giving the key index a boost. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index (KLCI) was up 20.45 points or 1.7 percent at 1,248.19, off a high of 1,249.63 and a low of 1,225.01. The FTSE Bursa Malaysia 30-large cap index gained 134.50 points or 1 .7 percent to 8,231.40 while the FTSE Bursa Malaysia second board index added 19.84 points or 0.3 percent to 5,774.52. Advancers led decliners 483 to 194, with 245 stocks unchanged and 506 counters untraded. Trading volume improved to 640 million shares, valued at 1.4 billion ringgit. "As we had anticipated, the current focus on commodity stocks, especially plantations, has led the market higher,'' said Phua Kwee Hock, an analyst at SJ Securities. Near-record oil prices at over $111 per barrel boosted crude palm oil (CPO) futures and fueled buying interest in plantation stocks, he said. CPO prices track oil prices as palm oil can be used as feedstock in the production of biofuel. Plantation stocks account for about 20 percent of the benchmark index. Bargain-hunting due to a reduced political risk premium since the general election on March 8 has also helped sentiment, although foreign investors have remained largely on the sidelines, Phua said. The analyst was referring to the heightened political risk immediately after the election when the ruling party suffered its worst-ever defeat in polls. Highway concessionaire Lingkaran Trans Kota Holdings Bhd. (Litrak) rose sharply on a cash return proposal. Litrak was up 3.7 percent at 3.88 ringgit, off a high of 4.00 ringgit, after it said it would return 462 million ringgit in capital to shareholders. Under the proposal, Litrak shareholders will receive cash of 0.93 ringgit per share and an interim dividend of 0.07 sen per share, the company said late Wednesday. Aseambankers Research said it was raising its target price on Litrak to 4.40 ringgit from 4.00 ringgit following the cash return announcement. Sime Darby, the world's largest palm oil producer and also the largest stock on the local bourse by market value, jumped 2.9 percent to 8.90 ringgit. IOI Corp, the second -largest plantation company in Malaysia, rallied 6.6 percent to 7.25 ringgit while another plantation heavyweight, Kuala Lumpur Kepong, rose 2.5 percent to 16.30 ringgit. Among construction stocks, Gamuda surged 8.4 percent to 3.36 ringgit while Malaysian Resources Corp. rallied 5.7 percent to 1.31 ringgit. National power utility Tenaga was flat at 7.15 ringgit. The state-owned company is scheduled to release its second-quarter earnings on Monday. Analysts said Tenaga may report weaker second-quarter earnings due to higher fuel costs and slower electricity demand. State-run Telekom Malaysia was up 1.9 percent at 10.80 ringgit. Malaysia's largest telecommunication group said it would complete the demerger of its overseas and mobile operations this month. Malaysia's top bank Maybank crept up 0.6 percent to 8.25 ringgit while blue-chip Tanjong plc topped gainers, rallying 4.5 percent to 16.40 ringgit. The Malaysian ringgit was firmer against the U.S. dollar at 3.1495/1500 while the three-month interbank rates stood at 3.61/62 percent and the overnight rates were at 3.49/50 percent.