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.
OPEC has reduced its oil demand growth forecasts for the third month in a row, signaling a belated recognition of the slowdown in global fuel consumption . The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries now expects oil consumption to increase by 1.9 million barrels per day (bpd) , roughly 2% in 2024, which is 106,000 bpd less than previously forecast. The revision was attributed to updated data and slightly lower expectations in certain regions. Despite the downgrades, OPEC's forecasts remain more optimistic than those of Wall Street banks and other trading houses . OPEC’s estimates also stand at the upper end of projections made by Saudi Aramco and are nearly double the growth expected by the International Energy Agency (IEA) . OPEC, led by Saudi Arabia , is delaying plans to restore 2.2 million bpd of halted production until December, citing concerns about slowing growth in China and rising supplies from the Americas. Market observers like JPMorgan Chase & C...