KUALA LUMPUR, July 31 (Bernama) -- Bursa Malaysia ended higher on Friday as investors continued to accumulate blue-chip stocks in line with stronger performances across most regional markets. At 5 pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) rose 4.50 points to 1,724.90 from yesterday’s close of 1,720.40. The benchmark index opened 0.83 of a point higher at 1,721.23, and moved between 1,715.67 and 1,730.12 throughout the day. The broader market was positive with gainers outpacing losers 707 to 402, while 547 counters were unchanged, 1,085 untraded and 56 suspended. Turnover expanded to 3.03 billion units valued at RM3.56 billion from 2.49 billion units valued at RM2.25 billion on Thursday.
The rally in oil prices lifted Wall Street on Monday as energy stocks that have been crushed recently find strength. This includes stocks like Chevron and Schlumberger. As what have been seen over the last few months, Wall Street has been dictated by the oil prices' trend, which have left the market down so far in 2016, although we are seeing a slight recovery last week. The recovery seems to continue as oil gains some strength. The US crude prices were up by more than 6% albeit still at around decades low. We are seeing strength in the market across the board, with all 10 major S&P sectors finishing higher. Besides oil, prices of industrial metals such as copper and zinc rose as concerns and worries over the potential shortages arise. The Dow Jones industrial average were up by 1.39% to close at 16,620.66 points while the S&P 500 jumped 1.45% to 1,945.5. The Nasdaq Composite gained 1.47% to 4,570.61. Recent turmoil in global markets and macroeconomic uncer...