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.
The US federal budget deficit surged to $1.9 trillion for the first 11 months of the fiscal year through August, marking a 24% increase from the same period last year, according to data released by the Treasury Department on Thursday. The deficit for August alone was $380 billion , a stark contrast to the surplus recorded in August 2023, after adjusting for calendar differences. This variance is largely attributed to an accounting adjustment following the rollback of the student-debt forgiveness plan. The interest burden on outstanding US debt remains a significant drag on the budget. Interest costs for the first 11 months of the fiscal year totaled $1.05 trillion , up 30% from the previous year. This marks the first time interest costs have exceeded $1 trillion annually. However, as a share of gross domestic product (GDP) , the ratio was higher in the early 1990s. The Federal Reserve's aggressive interest-rate hikes aimed at curbing inflation have increased the cost of i...