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.
Asian equities edged closer to record highs on Friday, buoyed by strong earnings from Amazon and Apple , which reignited risk appetite and sent US equity futures higher after a brief pause in the global stock rally. Global Stocks Extend Gains The MSCI Asia-Pacific Index rose 0.6% at the open, led by gains in Japan’s Nikkei 225 , while S&P 500 futures climbed 0.6% and Nasdaq 100 futures added 1.2% following overnight weakness in Wall Street. The rebound came as Apple beat revenue expectations and issued a bullish holiday forecast , while Amazon shares surged 13% in extended trading after posting its fastest cloud growth in nearly three years . Market sentiment also improved on signs of easing US-China trade tensions , even as the Federal Reserve signaled that a December rate cut is not guaranteed . Tech Optimism vs. AI Cost Concerns Mega-cap tech stocks ...