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.
Key Takeaway Investors see a September Fed rate cut as a done deal after the weak jobs report, but this week’s CPI inflation reading could reshape expectations for future cuts . Services inflation is the wild card that could keep the Fed cautious. Why the Market Expects a Cut August jobs report showed just 22,000 new jobs , with earlier months revised lower. Traders now price in a 100% chance of a cut at the Fed’s Sept. 17 meeting, with an 11% chance of a bigger 50bps move (CME FedWatch). Fed Chair Jerome Powell already signaled in Jackson Hole that the Fed’s focus has shifted toward a weakening labor market. The Data to Watch CPI (Thurs): Expected to rise 0.3% MoM, 2.9% YoY (vs. 2.7% in July). Core CPI: Seen steady at 3.1% YoY. Economists warn “sticky” services inflation could complicate rate-cut plans. PPI (Wed): May show how tariffs are filtering into producer costs. Jobs Revisions (Tues): Could reveal up to 1 million ...