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.
Semiconductor stocks exploded higher Wednesday , leading a broad market rally after Trump paused reciprocal tariffs for most countries (except China). But investors are now asking: Is it time to buy chip stocks? Market Snapshot: Nasdaq surged 12% after Trump's tariff pause announcement SOXX ETF (Semiconductor Index) jumped 18% , rebounding from a 33% plunge since Feb 19 Chip giants: Nvidia (NVDA): +18.72% Taiwan Semi (TSM): +12.29% Qualcomm (QCOM): +15.19% Amazon (AMZN): +11.98% (on chip/data optimism) Why Chips Are Volatile Chip stocks are highly cyclical — when demand drops, profits fall fast . Production can’t adjust as quickly as customer orders, leading to price pressure and margin declines. When macro fears ease (like with Trump's tariff shift), these same names rebound sharply . 📉 The Buy Signal: Valuation Before the rally, chip valuations were at historic lows , making them attractive. Nvi...