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.
Chinese stocks extended gains after a volatile start to the week, buoyed by the government's promises of fiscal support. The CSI 300 Index rose by as much as 2.4% , reversing early losses after capping its worst week since late July on Friday. A Bloomberg Intelligence gauge of Chinese developers also surged by over 3% , reflecting cautious optimism among traders. Despite the absence of a specific fiscal stimulus figure, Finance Minister Lan Fo'an hinted at new steps to bolster the struggling property sector, alongside suggestions of increased government borrowing. This has raised expectations for more revved-up fiscal spending , which analysts see as critical for sustaining the stock market rally sparked by the central bank’s stimulus measures in late September. Economists at HSBC, including Jing Liu, noted that while no large stimulus number was provided, the press conference still came as an "upside surprise," reinforcing expectations that the policy shift will...