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.
Apple Inc. posted its fastest revenue growth in over three years as surging demand for the iPhone 16 lineup and a rebound in China helped it beat Wall Street expectations for the fiscal third quarter ended June 28.
Key Numbers:
Revenue: $94 billion (+9.6% YoY) vs. $89.3 billion est.
EPS: $1.57 vs. $1.43 est.
iPhone Sales: $44.6 billion vs. $40.1 billion est.
China Revenue: $15.4 billion (+4.4% YoY)
Apple shares rose about 2% in late trading after the report.
CEO Tim Cook said Apple saw “an acceleration of growth around the world,” highlighting Greater China and emerging markets. The company credited part of the sales bump to consumers front-loading purchases ahead of expected price hikes from US tariffs, though that accounted for just 1 percentage point of the overall growth.
Tariff Impact: Apple had projected a $900 million headwind in Q3 but reported $800 million in added costs. It expects tariffs to add $1.1 billion in expenses this quarter.
Product Highlights:
The iPhone 16e, priced at $599, significantly outperformed its $429 predecessor, the iPhone SE.
Services revenue surged 13% to $27.4 billion, beating estimates.
Mac sales hit $8.05 billion, topping $7.3 billion forecasts.
iPad revenue dropped 8.1% to $6.58 billion, missing expectations.
Wearables, Home & Accessories fell 8.6% to $7.4 billion, with Vision Pro underperforming despite its $3,499 price tag.
Outlook: Apple forecast fourth-quarter revenue growth in the mid-to-high single digits, beating analysts’ 3% estimate. The company is preparing to launch its next-generation iPhones in September.
AI Strategy: Cook said Apple is ramping up investment in AI and remains open to acquisitions. Bloomberg has reported the company is exploring outsourcing large language models.
Despite challenges in wearables and regulatory scrutiny over its services business, Apple’s strong iPhone and China performance signal a return to growth ahead of its critical product launches this fall.
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