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.
Local institutional investors sustained their buying momentum on Bursa Malaysia for the ninth consecutive week , recording net equity purchases of RM1.05 billion last week, up from RM995.5 million the prior week, according to MIDF Research. Key Insights Foreign Investors : Continued to exit the market with a net outflow of RM1.07 billion , marking another week of selling. Sector Trends : Highest Net Foreign Inflows : Property (RM42.6M), Technology (RM40.2M), Plantation (RM29.4M). Highest Net Foreign Outflows : Financial Services (-RM500.5M), Healthcare (-RM168.9M), Utilities (-RM160.5M). Retail Investors Return to Buying After four weeks of net selling, local retail investors turned net buyers with RM13.8 million in net purchases. Regional Context Asia-Wide Trend : Foreign investors recorded US$4.7 billion in net outflows across eight Asian markets, a 2.6x increase from the previous week. Key Contributors : Taiwan :...