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.
HSBC Holdings has bought back and cancelled more than 9.1 million shares from Merrill Lynch International , according to a filing with the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. The bank repurchased 4.87 million shares across UK trading venues —including the London Stock Exchange, Aquis Exchange, and Cboe Europe —at an average price of £9.89 per share. An additional 4.25 million shares were bought on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange at an average price of HK$101.82 each. HSBC’s stock rose 0.39% in Hong Kong and 0.82% in London following the buyback disclosure.