KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 8 (Bernama) -- Bursa Malaysia closed almost flat on Tuesday as buying interest rotated away from index heavyweights towards smaller-cap construction stocks, with sentiment affected by geopolitical uncertainty, said an analyst. At 5 pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) eased 0.39 of a point to 1,714.40 from Monday’s close of 1,714.79. The benchmark index opened 1.65 points lower at 1,713.14 and moved between 1,710.44 and 1,714.50 throughout the trading session. The broader market was almost evenly balanced, with decliners leading gainers 548 to 546, while 598 counters were unchanged, 1,107 were untraded and 25 were suspended. Turnover expanded to 4.13 billion units valued at RM3.14 billion from 3.60 billion units valued at RM2.45 billion on Monday.
Has oil bottom? The oil price seems to have bottom after a 20-month collapse as the oil market shown some strength in its rally to go up as much as 6% on Monday. Speculation about the falling U.S shale output has been the main drive for the rally. Friday's U.S rig count data has been one of the reason for the market reaction as prices began the week with a rebound in Asian trade. The data points to a drop in the number of oil drilling rigs in operations to a December 2009 low after there have been nine consecutive weeks of cut. The statement by International Energy Agency, the world's oil consumer body in regards to U.S shale oil production to fall by 600,000 barrels per day this year and another 200,000 barrels per day in 2017 also helped the oil rally. U.S. crude futures settled up by $1.84, or 6 percent, at $31.48 a barrel, rallying above $32 at one point. Futures of Brent finished up $1.68, or 5 percent, at $34.69. HAS OIL BOTTOM? This is the difficult questio...