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.
Stellantis NV has revised its profit margin forecast for 2024, citing higher costs to revive its Jeep and Dodge brands in the US and a broader global slowdown in the automotive sector. The company now expects an adjusted operating income margin of 5.5% to 7% , down from its earlier prediction of double digits . In addition, industrial free cash flow is forecast to be between negative €5 billion and negative €10 billion , a significant shift from previous guidance of positive cash flow. The automaker is accelerating efforts to reduce inventory in the US, aiming for fewer than 330,000 vehicles by the end of the year, ahead of its initial target of early 2025 . This adjustment from Stellantis follows similar guidance cuts from European automakers, including Volkswagen AG , which issued its second profit warning recently due to sluggish sales and increasing competition from Chinese rivals .