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.
Malaysia is pressing ahead with fiscal reforms to narrow its deficit and rein in government borrowing , as part of a broader effort to strengthen public finances and reduce rising debt-servicing costs, Deputy Finance Minister Liew Chin Tong said in Parliament on Thursday. The reforms are anchored under the Public Finance and Fiscal Responsibility Act (Act 850) , which has already delivered tangible results. Annual new government borrowing has been reduced from RM100 billion in 2021–2022 to around RM75 billion in 2025 , reflecting stronger fiscal discipline and consolidation. To sustain this trajectory, the government is broadening its revenue base and improving collection efficiency through measures such as expanding the sales and services tax (SST) , rolling out e-invoicing , and tightening expenditure via targeted diesel and RON95 fuel subsidies . Authorities are also moving to rationalise statutory bodies to impr...