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.
In a recent interview, the European Union’s foreign policy chief , Kaja Kallas , claimed that China stands to benefit from the ongoing trade tensions between the U.S. and its allies. Speaking on the sidelines of a Group of Seven (G7) meeting in Canada , Kallas stated, "Who is laughing on the side or looking at the side is China. It’s really benefitting from the U.S. having a trade war with Europe." Her comments came after U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to impose a 200% tariff on wine, champagne , and other alcoholic beverages from France and other EU nations. This was a retaliation against the EU’s plan to tax American whiskey exports , which was itself a countermeasure to the U.S. tariffs on steel and aluminum . The Global Impact of US Trade Wars: Kallas emphasized that trade wars typically lead to inflation peaks , which hurt consumers...