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.
China’s copper production is expanding rapidly, now expected to supply half of the world’s refined copper this year . This rapid growth in capacity is affecting profitability worldwide and could threaten the viability of plants from Chile to Europe . China, the world's largest copper consumer , has been on a construction spree, adding smelters to secure critical materials for the energy transition . However, this oversupply is creating fierce competition for raw materials, slashing margins across the global industry . Calls to limit China’s output and slow down new smelter construction have gone unheeded. If the expansion continues , copper refining could increasingly shift to China, raising concerns among western governments about China’s control over strategic resources . The issue will take center stage at Asia’s largest copper industry gathering in Shanghai this week . With more smelter capacity than global mine production, miners now hold negotiating power, which could reduc...