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.
A stronger than expected October jobs report boost the chances of a December rate hike and Wall Street dropped slightly lower on Friday to reflect that. Out of the 10 major sectors in S&P, nine were lower, with the interest rate sensitive utilities sector's 3% decline being the worst while the financial sectors was only up by 1% and the only gainer. S&P 500 Index dropped slightly on Friday The Labor Department's report showed nonfarm payrolls increased by 271,000 in October, beating the 180,000 expected. Data for August and September were revised to show 12,000 more jobs on average were created than previously reported. The unemployment rate fell to 5.0%, the lowest since April 2008, from 5.1% in September. The jobless rate is now at a level many Fed officials view as consistent with full employment. "I think it's good news — it's good news for the economy, eventually the market will take it as good news," said Sean Lynch, co-h...