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.
Asian equities surged to fresh record peaks on Friday, tracking Wall Street’s rally as investors priced in a series of US Federal Reserve rate cuts that could ease borrowing costs worldwide. Record-Breaking Gains Across Asia Indices in Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan all touched new highs, buoyed by expectations of continued AI-driven earnings growth . Japan’s Nikkei rose 0.6% , extending its weekly gain to 3.7%, while South Korea’s market jumped 1.1% for a 5% weekly surge. China’s blue-chip index edged 0.2% higher, reaching its strongest level since early 2022. The broad MSCI Asia-Pacific ex-Japan index climbed 1.2%, while futures signaled European shares would follow suit, with EUROSTOXX 50, FTSE, and DAX futures all up 0.3%. Fed Rate Cuts in Focus The latest US CPI report came in largely in line with expectations, with core prices rising 0.3% in August and 3.1% year-on-year. Economists at Citi now forecast the Fed’s preferred...