Bursa Malaysia closed higher on Friday, buoyed by a strong rally in banking stocks that provided the main support for the benchmark index. The positive sentiment followed the release of softer-than-expected US jobs data, which alleviated concerns about further monetary tightening by the Federal Reserve. IPPFA Sdn Bhd director of investment strategy and country economist Sedek Jantan noted that the recovery in heavyweight financial counters was the primary driver of the market’s upward movement.