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.
Singapore’s economy outperformed expectations in the third quarter, but fresh trade data suggests the city-state is not fully out of the woods as global protectionism continues to reshape supply chains. Non-oil domestic exports (NODX) fell 3.3% in the July–September period, reversing a 7% rebound in the previous quarter, Enterprise Singapore reported Friday. The decline was driven by a sharp pullback in non-electronics shipments , which offset gains in the electronics sector. Volatile pharmaceutical exports were among the largest drags. Despite Singapore’s resilience to tariff pressures—thanks in part to its lower US-bound duties relative to regional peers—its deep integration across global supply chains leaves it exposed to geopolitical swings and sector-specific shocks. The impact is already visible: exports to the US plunged 30.7% in the third quarter, the steepest drop among Singapore’s top 10 markets. For the first nine months of 2025, NODX...