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.
Strategic Misstep Highlights Fragility of AI Rollouts in Banking Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA), the country’s largest lender, has reversed its decision to eliminate 45 customer service roles, initially slated for redundancy due to artificial intelligence (AI) implementation. The about-face follows intense scrutiny and legal action from the Finance Sector Union (FSU), raising broader questions about AI deployment strategy and workforce impact in the financial sector. Voice Bot Efficiency Claims Disputed CBA’s justification for the cuts relied on the claim that its new voice bot technology had reduced weekly call volumes by 2,000. However, the FSU contested this assertion, presenting evidence of increasing call activity and reports that staff were required to work overtime. Team leaders were also reportedly called in to handle overflow, contradicting the bank’s efficiency narrative. CBA acknowledged its misjudgment, stating the roles "were not redundant" and that their ...