Malaysian Shares End Week in Green on Upbeat Economic Data
Malaysian shares extended gains to end in the green on Friday, mirroring regional gains. The investor sentiment was positive after the positive manufacturing and industrial production data.The FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI, the main gauge of Malaysian stocks, gained 4.10 points to end 0.2% higher at 1,683.63.In economic news, Malaysia's manufacturing sales rose 9.1% year over year to 175 billion ringgit in April, according to data from the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM). The growth pace accelerated from the 5.3% increase recorded in March.Malaysia's Industrial Production Index (IPI) rose 8.2% year over year in April, according to data from the DOSM. The pace of growth accelerated from the 3.1% increase recorded in the previous month. It beat the consensus forecast of a 4% growth tracked by Investing.com.Meanwhile, Malaysia's retail trade sales increased 6.3% year over year in April, according to data from the Statistics Department.In corporate news, shares of Titijaya Land (KLSE:TITIJYA) rose over 3% on today's close after it signed a consortium deal with Permodalan Negeri Selangor to develop affordable housing under the Rumah Idaman initiative in Selangor, Malaysia.Shares of Kerjaya Prospek Group (KLSE:KERJAYA) gained about 2% on week's close after its unit Rivanis Ventures signed a development deal worth 156.5 million ringgit with Railway Assets to acquire and develop 34.8 acres of land in Penang, Malaysia.