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.
The Trump administration is preparing a sweeping tariff package that may mark the most aggressive protectionist turn in US history since the 1930s. Markets are watching closely as risks of recession, inflation, and global retaliation mount. Policy Overview President Trump is poised to unveil a new round of “reciprocal tariffs” , possibly as soon as Wednesday, which would target countries with trade barriers or tax structures deemed unfair to US exporters. Tariffs could raise average US import duties by up to 28 percentage points — the most since the 1800s. The plan would replace the US’s long-held multilateral trade commitments under GATT/WTO with bilateral arrangements . Key trading partners including Europe, China, Canada, and Southeast Asia are expected to be affected. Economic Impact Forecasts Bloomberg Economics projects a 4% hit to US GDP over 2–3 years under a maximalist scenario— more than $1 trillion in output ...