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.
The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) maintained its current monetary policy stance on Tuesday, keeping the slope, midpoint, and width of the Singapore dollar nominal effective exchange rate (SNEER) band unchanged . The decision came as Singapore’s economy grew 2.9% year-on-year in Q3 , outpacing forecasts of 1.9%. The central bank noted that growth has been stronger than expected , with the output gap remaining positive in 2025 before normalizing next year. Economists said the impact of U.S. tariffs has been milder than feared. OCBC’s Selena Ling expects 2025 GDP growth of about 3% , while Maybank’s Chua Hak Bin projects an even higher 3.5% , citing resilient domestic demand and exports. Singapore continues to rely on its exchange rate-based policy instead of interest rates, adjusting the SNEER through three levers — the slope, midpoint, and band width...