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.
Hong Kong banks borrowed HK$4.79 billion ($617 million) from the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) via the discount window on Monday, marking the highest short-term borrowing since December 2019. The increase in liquidity demand reflects rising borrowing costs and tighter Hong Kong dollar liquidity. This surge in borrowing comes as the one-month Hong Kong Interbank Offered Rates (Hibor) climbed to its highest level in two months, fueled by demand for local assets amid a rally in Chinese stocks . Other contributing factors include soaring equity settlement demand , increasing margin financing activities, and ongoing silver bond subscriptions . Ken Cheung, chief Asia FX strategist at Mizuho Bank , noted that the increased usage of the discount window mirrors tighter liquidity conditions and rising demand for Hong Kong dollar assets. The Hong Kong dollar has remained relatively stable, trading just below 7.77 per dollar , within its pegged range of 7.75 to 7.85 against the US dol...