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.
Futurum Group CEO Daniel Newman says the U.S. government’s decision to take a 10% stake in Intel marks a pivotal moment in Washington’s push to strengthen domestic chipmaking and reduce reliance on Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC). Speaking with Bloomberg’s Vonnie Quinn and Caroline Hyde on The Close , Newman framed the move as both a market signal and a national security play. A U.S.-Backed Chip Champion Newman noted that while TSMC remains the industry’s gold standard, ongoing tensions between China and Taiwan make U.S. dependence on the Taiwanese chipmaker unsustainable. “The United States needs its own chip champion that can manufacture at the same level as TSMC,” he said. “Relying solely on Taiwan is not a great strategy going forward.” Intel, however, has struggled to regain credibility with major clients such as NVIDIA, Apple, and AMD. Newman argued that government backing could accelerate Intel’s foundry ambitions, even if that means taking “skin in the game” ...