Share prices on Bursa Malaysia ended the day higher yesterday amid rising confidence of a rescue plan to combat the eurozone debt crisis, dealers said.

Malaysia Building Society-WA, the highest volume contributor to the FTSE Bursa Malaysia Kuala Lumpur Composite Index (FBM KLCI), helped push the benchmark index 16.37 points up to 1,444.87. The index, which opened 3.19 points higher at 1,431.69, moved between 1,445.43 and 1,430.95 points.

TA Securities Holdings Bhd’s head of research Kaladher Govindan said strengthening investors’ confidence in European leaders who are nearing a plan to tame the debt crisis lifted world equity markets, which supported the local bourse.

The domestic market and regional bourses reacted positively to the optimistic sentiment across the globe, he said.

He said although the global market climbed on the eurozone pact, at the end the concerns would be for the European leaders to arrive on a same bailout amount pact, a full endorsement by the EU summit on October 23.

“They need a long-term plan,” Kala-dher said, adding that the markets are in a fragile positive state.

On Bursa Malaysia, the Finance Index improved 52.47 points to 13,234.0, the Plantation Index jumped 119.51 points to 7,369.12 and the Industrial Index rose 59.61 points to 2,626.19.

The FBM Emas Index jumped 119.39 points to 9,812.83, the FBM70 Index spiralled 136.029 points to 10,471.68 and the FBM ACE went up 120.66 points to 3,823.73.

Gainers led losers by 677 to 174 while 233 counters were flat, 389 untraded and 21 suspended.

British American Tobacco led the gainers list, finishing 90 sen better at RM44.50, followed by PPB Group which rose 56 sen to RM16.86 and MISC Bhd which gained 41 sen to RM6.41.

As for heavyweights, Maybank was flat at RM8.28, CIMB added 10 sen to RM7.40, Sime Darby advanced 5 sen to RM8.60 and Petronas Chemicals perked up13 sen to RM5.93.

Meanwhile, FBM KLCI futures on Bursa Malaysia Derivatives ended mostly higher in line with the uptrend on the cash market, dealers said.

October 2011 rose 0.5 points to 1,439, November 2011 gained 2.5 points to 1,434, December 2011 added 3.5 points to 1,428.5 but March 2012 lost 3 points to 1,422.

Turnover fell to 10,905 lots from 12,850 lots on Wednesday while open interest was higher at 25,770 contracts, from 25,056 previously. – Bernama