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.
The Employee Provident Fund (EPF) continue to see positive return in their investment income. In comparison to a year earlier, the investment income saw a 9.73% increase in the second quarter of 2015, on a higher equity and real estate portfolio. EPF maintains their performance for 1H2015 The 1H15 income increased to RM22.04 billion from RM19.23 billion a year earlier. “Despite very challenging conditions, our performance for the first six months of 2015 was strongly supported by our well-diversified portfolio and the strengthening of the USD had also enhanced the returns from our international investments. “While we were able to maintain the previous quarter’s momentum, we are currently seeing greater volatility in the financial markets. The anticipation of interest rate hike in the United States as well as economic slowdown in China and other emerging countries are the prevailing concerns. It will be challenging for the EPF to sustain the first half’s moment...