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 is turning up the heat on short-term property speculation. In a coordinated move on Thursday night, the Ministry of National Development , Ministry of Finance , and the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) announced new cooling measures for the private residential property market — extending the seller’s stamp duty (SSD) period and hiking rates significantly. Effective July 4 , anyone selling a private residential property within four years of purchase will face higher SSD rates , with the steepest penalty — 16% — now applying to properties sold within the first year , up from 12% previously. Updated Seller’s Stamp Duty Rates (Effective July 4) Holding Period Previous SSD New SSD Up to 1 year 12% 16% >1 year – up to 2 years 8% 12% >2 years – up to 3 years 4% 8% >3 years – up to 4 years 0% 4% Beyond 4 years 0% 0% The government cited a “ sharp rise ” in short-term flipping ...