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.
Air-France KLM and Deutsche Lufthansa AG are urging their respective governments to take action against the rising number of flights from Chinese carriers to Europe, which they argue creates unfair competition. Air-France KLM is lobbying the French government to cap the number of Chinese flights, while Lufthansa is pushing for Germany to challenge Beijing over the perceived distorted rivalry. Chinese airlines have gained a competitive edge by flying over Russian airspace , saving time and offering cheaper fares, while European airlines are unable to do the same due to restrictions following Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Lufthansa plans to cut its Frankfurt-Beijing flights by the end of this month, citing unprofitability from using older, fuel-inefficient jets on the route. The competition has been further fueled by Chinese government subsidies , with the three largest Chinese airlines receiving 111.1 billion yuan (US$15.7 billion) in grants. By the end of this year, Chines...