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.
DBS Group Holdings Ltd has launched a S$3 billion (US$2.25 billion) share buyback following strong third-quarter results driven by wealth management fees and markets trading income. The Southeast Asian bank’s robust capital position supports this buyback, marking a continued commitment to returning capital to investors, a strategy championed by outgoing CEO Piyush Gupta. DBS shares surged nearly 6% in Singapore on Thursday, outperforming rivals OCBC and UOB, with the stock up over 36% this year. Analysts at Morgan Stanley noted that while the buyback is positive, the high valuation—DBS trades at 1.7 times book value—limits value creation. DBS reported a 15% increase in net income to S$3.03 billion, surpassing analyst estimates of S$2.74 billion, with wealth management contributing significantly, echoing trends at global banks like HSBC and Standard Chartered. The bank also announced an interim dividend of 54 Singapore cents, yielding 5.5%. Looking ahead, DBS expects a glob...