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.
Stock traders are becoming increasingly bullish and complacent, as evidenced by a new all-time high for the CBOE SKEW Index (.SKEW.US) . While many market commentators suggest this rise indicates heightened concerns about a potential Black Swan event , the reality may be more concerning from a contrarian perspective. Understanding the SKEW Index The SKEW Index measures the divergence between two groups of traders: Consensus Majority: Traders with a bullish market outlook. Super-Bearish Minority: Traders anticipating extreme downside risks, such as a market crash. When the SKEW rises, it reflects a growing gap between these two perspectives. However, this gap can widen in two ways: Increased Bearishness: The minority becomes more concerned about a crash, while the majority remains steady. Increased Bullishness: The majority becomes less concerned about risks, while the minority maintains its bearish stance. What the Current SKEW Indicates Recent data suggests the latter scenario: t...