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.
Nestlé SA has lowered its sales and profit expectations for the year as the Swiss food giant struggles to regain market share after higher prices led consumers to shy away from branded products. The company now expects organic sales to rise by around 2% in 2024, down from its previous forecast of at least 3%, marking the lowest annual growth rate since at least 2000. Shares of Nestlé fell by as much as 2.3% in early Swiss trading, contributing to a year-to-date decline of about 16% . The company’s newly appointed CEO, Laurent Freixe , who took over from Mark Schneider in September, has introduced several organizational changes, including a streamlined executive board and fewer geographical zones to improve decision-making. However, analysts at Bernstein expressed concern, noting that it is unclear how these changes will boost market share or performance. Nestlé's sales in North America contracted by 0.3% in the first nine months of the year, while Latin America was impa...