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 US housing market is experiencing one of its least affordable periods in decades, with residential real estate sales stalling and a generation of aspiring homeowners being shut out. The only group seemingly unaffected by this crisis are the ultra-wealthy. Key Points for Investors and Homebuyers: Overall Market Trends: Sales Decline: New home sales in June were down slightly and well below expectations following a 15% decline in May. Transactions for previously owned properties dropped for the fourth consecutive month. Luxury Market Resilience: Homes worth over $1 million were the only category to see sales rise in June, according to the National Association of Realtors. Mortgage Rates and Cash Purchases: Rising Rates: The 30-year fixed mortgage rate is around 6.8%, significantly higher than the approximately 3% rate seen from late 2019 to early 2022. Cash Buyers: Wealthy buyers are largely unaffected by high mortgage rates as they tend to purchase homes with cash. As of Q1 2024...