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.
Australian business confidence reached its highest level since early 2023 in October, driven by resilient sales and reduced input cost pressures , according to the National Australia Bank (NAB) survey. NAB's business conditions index remained steady at +7, while the confidence index surged to +5 — a significant increase from previous months. Sales increased to +13 , while profitability held at +5 . However, employment intentions slightly declined to +3 . NAB's head of Australian economics, Gareth Spence, noted that this spike in confidence, though observed over just one month, is a positive indicator for potential growth. The survey showed easing inflation pressures, with input cost growth slowing to 0.9% from 1.3% in September, and labour costs and product prices also moderating.