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.
Asia: Cautious Trade Before Jackson Hole Asian equities eased on Tuesday as traders stayed defensive ahead of the Federal Reserve’s Jackson Hole symposium (Aug 21–23) . MSCI Asia ex-Japan : -0.2% Nikkei 225 : Hit an intraday record before closing -0.5%, dragged by SoftBank (-5%) after it announced a $2B investment in Intel . US dollar : Held firm at ¥147.78 ; dollar index at 98.17 (+0.2% overnight). Markets are pricing an 83.6% chance of a 25 bps cut in September , but remain cautious on Powell’s tone at Jackson Hole. Europe: Optimism on Ukraine Security Talks European futures ticked higher on optimism over progress in Ukraine–Russia peace discussions . Euro Stoxx 50 futures : +0.3% DAX futures : +0.2% FTSE futures : +0.3% Ukrainian President Zelenskiy said security guarantees could be finalized within 10 days following talks with Trump and European leaders . Trump also said he was arranging a Putin–Zel...