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.
Asian stocks pulled back from two-and-a-half-year highs on Tuesday, while the dollar firmed following comments from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell that dampened expectations for aggressive interest rate cuts. Ongoing tensions in the Middle East also kept risk sentiment subdued. Oil prices remained steady, and gold traded just below a record high reached last week, as investors awaited US labor data for further clarity on the timeline for rate cuts. The MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan declined by 0.32% to 618.87 , retreating from the recent high of 627.66 reached on Monday. Nonetheless, the index is still up 17% for the year. Regional Market Movements Japan's Nikkei index climbed nearly 2% on the back of a weaker yen, recovering from a 4.8% drop the previous day due to the election of perceived monetary policy hawk Shigeru Ishiba as the new prime minister. Meanwhile, European stocks were poised for a higher open, with Eurostoxx 50 futures...