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 Mexican peso tumbled to its weakest level in over two years, and Asian currencies retreated as the US dollar rallied after President-elect Donald Trump pledged sweeping tariffs on key trading partners. Trump, set to take office on Jan 20, 2025 , announced plans to impose a 25% tariff on imports from Canada and Mexico and an additional 10% tariff on Chinese imports, compounding market jitters. The Mexican peso sank as much as 2.3% to its lowest level since August 2022, before stabilizing at a 1.7% loss by 0745 GMT. The US dollar soared to a 4.5-year high against the Canadian dollar, while climbing to its strongest level since July 30 against China’s yuan. EM Asian Currencies Under Pressure Currencies in emerging Asia also faced losses, with the Malaysian ringgit and Indonesian rupiah declining by 0.4% each. The Thai baht fell up to 0.4%, pressured by concerns over the country’s widening tr...