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.
Oil and Natural Gas Corp. (ONGC) reported a 17% increase in quarterly net income to 119.8 billion rupees ($1.4 billion) , surpassing analysts' estimates of 98.96 billion rupees, despite reduced production and weak crude prices. The strong performance was driven by doubling of non-core income to 47.66 billion rupees and lower expenses . ONGC’s earnings on crude sales fell 7.7% to $78.33 per barrel , while gas profits remained unchanged due to government-set prices. The company’s oil production was almost flat, with a 4.6% growth, and gas output dropped 2.1%. Demand concerns have impacted oil producers globally, yet ONGC, focusing on the domestic market, faces pressure from the Indian government to increase output and reduce oil imports. The company’s higher earnings will support its 350 billion rupee annual capital expenditure plan to fund ambitious exploration initiatives. Quarterly revenue dropped 3.6% to 338.8 billion rupees .