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.
Key Takeaways Stock surge : Baidu shares jumped 16% in Hong Kong , adding US$6.4b in market value , biggest gain since March 2022. Analyst upgrades : Arete flipped from sell to buy ; Citi and Goldman also turned bullish on Baidu’s AI growth prospects. Chip & cloud catalysts : Mass production of Baidu’s Kunlun AI chips and new China Merchants Group partnership expected to boost revenue. AI model upgrade : New Ernie X1.1 shows “significant improvements,” even surpassing some DeepSeek benchmarks. Baidu Rides AI Hype Baidu’s shares surged on Wednesday as analysts highlighted the company’s AI chip and cloud opportunities . The rally came after Arete Research upgraded Baidu from sell to buy , reversing its lone bearish stance since May. Options Activity Jumps Investor enthusiasm spread to the derivatives market, with 170,000 contracts traded — more than triple the 20-day average — showing bets on further u...