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 potential yen bond deal by Berkshire Hathaway comes at a time when Japanese corporate bond yields are sliding, driven by the changing Bank of Japan (BOJ) policy outlook . This shift follows a significant development where newly appointed Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba signaled that Japan's economy is not ready for more rate hikes —an unusual move that appeared to influence BOJ decisions. Yields on Japanese corporate bonds have fallen from 1.07% at the end of July to around 0.92% , while the benchmark 10-year Japanese Government Bond (JGB) yield has also dropped by 17.5 basis points to 0.87% during the same period, according to Bloomberg data. This decline reflects the broader market sentiment as investors adjust to the evolving policy landscape in Japan.