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.
Tether’s USDT stablecoin , the world’s most-used cryptocurrency, has seen periodic discounts relative to the dollar since late September, signaling a potential shift by Chinese investors from digital assets back to the surging Chinese stock market . Despite China's 2021 ban on crypto trading, many mainland residents have continued using overseas exchanges to trade cryptocurrencies. However, recent easing measures by China’s central bank , aimed at boosting the economy, have spurred a rally in Chinese stocks , coinciding with the USDT discount. Stablecoins like USDT , which are typically pegged 1-to-1 to fiat currencies such as the dollar, are used to conduct transactions and hedge against the volatility of tokens like Bitcoin. The discount suggests rising demand for dollars as traders exit USDT positions to buy Chinese stocks . According to Kaiko , a blockchain data firm, the absence of USDT/Chinese yuan trading pairs due to the ban makes dollar-based transactions a key baromet...