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 US dollar gave up some of its overnight gains on Wednesday, while Asian stocks showed mixed performance as traders weighed the likelihood of a significant Federal Reserve (Fed) interest rate cut later in the day. The dollar fell sharply against the yen , giving back about a third of its rally from Tuesday, which was initially driven by unexpectedly strong US retail sales data that weakened the case for an aggressive Fed rate cut. The euro also recovered, regaining nearly all of its previous day's losses. Fed Rate Cut Expectations The probability of the Fed initiating its easing cycle with a substantial 50 basis point (bps) rate cut fluctuated throughout the Asian trading session. It fell to 63% early in the day, down from 67% on Tuesday morning, according to LSEG data . However, by 0137 GMT , the odds had risen again to 65% . Market Performance in Asia Japanese stocks were the standout performers in the region, with the Nikkei stock average climbing 0.72% to erase T...