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.
Key Takeaway: China’s new home prices fell 5.9% in October year-on-year , marking the steepest Official data revealed that China's new home prices dropped for the 16th consecutive month , falling 5.9% in October compared to the previous year. However, the month-on-month decline slowed to 0.5%, the smallest since March, from 0.7% in September. The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) noted narrowing price declines across tier-one, tier-two, and tier-three cities , hinting at potential stabilization. Additionally, 75.9% of respondents in an NBS survey expect home prices to stabilize or rise within the next six months, an increase of 17.6 percentage points from the previous poll. Key Developments in the Property Sector: Government Measures: Authorities have introduced tax incentives and lowered borrowing costs, including a 25 basis-point cut in benchmark lending rates in October. Home Deliveries: Policymakers delivered 2.85 million pre-sold homes nationwide as of Nov 13, addre...