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.
Shares Hit New All-Time Low Bermaz Auto Bhd (KL:BAUTO) slid to a record low on Friday after reporting quarterly earnings that badly missed expectations, triggering a wave of analyst downgrades. The stock fell as much as 9% to 61.5 sen before paring slightly to 62.5 sen at 10am, with nearly 10 million shares traded. Year to date, Bermaz has lost around 60% of its market value, wiping out over RM1 billion in capitalisation. Quarterly Earnings Shock Net profit in the most recent quarter came in at just 5% of consensus full-year forecasts, forcing analysts to sharply revise down estimates. The poor showing prompted two more research houses to cut their recommendations to “sell,” bringing the tally to eight sell calls, six hold, and only two buys. Public Investment Bank noted that Malaysia’s non-national passenger vehicle segment is under pressure from weaker consumer confidence, higher costs due to fuel subsidy rationalisation, and inflationary headwinds. Competitive Pressure from Ch...