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 focus today will be on both the Ringgit against a much stronger US dollar and the plantation sector. The Malaysian Palm Oil Board will announce this week Oct inventory, output and export numbers, thus the spot light on the plantation sector. Last Monday, the KLCI eked out a 0.41-point gain to settle at 1,686.11. Yesterday, the Malaysian stock market was closed for the Deepavali holiday. However, overnight US dollar gains could put the ringgit in the spotlight today. The ringgit was last traded weaker at 4.3825 versus the US dollar. The Ringgit on spot light against a stronger US dollar Reuters reported that the prospect of a US rate hike sent the dollar to a seven-month high. A strong dollar eats into the overseas sales at US companies. In overnight US share trades, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.16% to 17,758.21 points. Nasdaq Composite fell 0.24% to 5,083.24. With the plantation shares like Sime Darby Bhd, Kuala Lumpur Kepong Bhd, ...