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.
Stocks advanced Monday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average rising above the 18,000 level for the first time since July, as investors shook off oil’s losses on failed output talks and looked toward a bevy of corporate earnings this week. The index jumped about 100 points to close above 18,000 on Monday. It's a pretty sweet milestone considering the Dow plunged to just 15,451 in January, as Wall Street freaked out over the crash in oil prices and China's economic slowdown. Cooler heads eventually prevailed as investors realized the American economy is not collapsing and cheap oil is actually good for most Americans. The Dow is now up 16.5% from its 2016 low, and is within striking distance of its all-time record high of 18,351 set last May. The S&P 500 also closed at a fresh 2016 high on Monday. Even the Nasdaq is closing in on a key level: The tech index is now down just 1% on the year. That's impressive given the fact the Nasdaq was flirt...