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.
Moody’s Investors Service said it is considering a downgrade of B&M European Value Retail’s (LSE: BME) ratings, including its Ba1 corporate family rating , as the UK discount retailer prepares to launch a third-party review following the discovery of a major accounting error. The rating agency said the review will assess the potential implications of the third-party audit on B&M’s credit profile , citing uncertainty over both the timing and outcome of the process as key reasons for placing the company’s ratings under review for a downgrade. B&M’s decision to commission the external review comes after uncovering an accounting error involving £7 billion in overseas freight costs that had not been properly recognized in its financial records. In conjunction with the disclosure, B&M announced the resignation of Chief Financial Officer Mike Schmidt , further intensifying investor concern over corporate governance and finan...