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 and European stocks climbed on Tuesday, buoyed by Wall Street’s overnight surge led by tech stocks, while the US dollar softened after Monday’s gains. Market Highlights Asian Markets Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 1.91% , driven by tech-sector strength. The MSCI Asia Index (ex-Japan) gained 1.16% , while Australia's benchmark hit an all-time high, ending up 0.56% . European Markets Early trading saw the Stoxx 600 up 0.62% , with France’s CAC 40 advancing 0.94% after underperforming on Monday due to political instability. US Futures Both S&P 500 and Nasdaq futures remained flat after reaching record highs on Monday. Key tech stocks: Meta Platforms surged nearly 19% . Tesla jumped 12% but dipped 1% in post-market trading following a Delaware court ruling against Elon Musk's compensation package. Currency Movements The dollar index fell 0.15% , while the euro rebounded 0.24% to $1.0524 and the pound climbed 0.27% to $1.2692 . The Chinese yuan slid to a 13-mon...