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.
US main stock indices rose slightly on Friday, with small-cap stocks outperforming after a tame inflation report, suggesting the Federal Reserve could shift its focus toward the labor market while continuing its path of interest rate easing . The Commerce Department 's report indicated that consumer spending grew moderately in August, maintaining the economy's solid momentum in the third quarter while inflation pressures continued to ease. This gave the Fed more room to address rate cuts . “It’s a relief to have inflation moving in the right direction,” said Joe Saluzzi, co-head of equity trading at Themis Trading , who noted that the key issue is whether the Fed will continue cutting rates in the coming year. Markets now assign a 52.1% chance of a 50 basis-point rate cut at the Fed's November meeting, with the likelihood of a 25 basis-point cut standing at 47.9% , according to the CME Group's FedWatch Tool . At 9:55 a.m. ET , the Dow Jones Industrial Average ro...