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.
Global markets turned risk-off on Thursday as a sharp escalation in the US-Israel-Iran conflict sent oil prices soaring and heightened fears of stagflation , while central banks adopted a more hawkish tone . Energy Shock Triggers Market Selloff Oil prices surged after Iran accused Israel of targeting its South Pars gas field , followed by retaliatory threats against energy infrastructure across the Gulf. Brent crude jumped above US$111 per barrel US crude rose over 3% to US$99.39 Natural gas surged more than 5% The escalation has raised concerns that the conflict is now directly impacting the global energy supply chain , rather than remaining a contained geopolitical event. Equity Markets Decline Across Asia Equity markets fell sharply across the region: Japan’s Nikkei dropped 2.5% South Korea equities fell 2.5% MSCI Asia-Pacific ex-Japan declined over 1% European futures slid more than 1.5% Investors are increasingly concerned about ...