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 equities showed mixed performance on Thursday , with selective strength in industrial and telecom names, while broader weakness persisted amid global volatility. STI Movers: Defensive and Yield Plays Hold Up Among the FTSE STI constituents , gainers were led by: Sembcorp Industries (+0.98%) – top performer, supported by energy-linked sentiment Genting Singapore (+0.74%) Singtel (+0.39%) OCBC Bank (+0.23%) On the downside: DFIRG USD (-5.11%) led decliners Hongkong Land (-4.17%) Jardine Matheson Holdings (-3.79%) City Developments (-3.40%) The divergence highlights rotation into defensive and yield-generating stocks , while property-linked counters faced pressure. REITs: Selective Buying in Yield Plays The REIT sector saw mixed performance: Suntec REIT (+4.29%) – strongest performer, indicating renewed investor interest Prime US REIT (-3.43%) led losses CDL Hospitality...