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.
Malaysian bonds are facing increased vulnerability to outflows as local yields rise alongside US Treasuries , following Donald Trump’s election win. Analysts suggest this trend could continue, particularly given the sharp ringgit depreciation against a strengthening dollar. Malaysian bonds saw net outflows of RM11.2 billion (US$2.6 billion) last month — the largest since March 2020 — according to Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) data. This outflow, coupled with a sell-off in US Treasuries and a weakening ringgit, is pressuring yields higher. Notably, the 90-day correlation between Malaysian bonds and the ringgit has risen to 0.63, signaling that as the ringgit weakens, bond yields tend to rise. “The election outcome suggests continued dollar strength ,” said Philip McNicholas, Asia sovereign strategist at Robeco Group in Singapore. “With Treasury yields steepening, there’s a risk of further foreign withdrawal from emerging-market (EM) assets , especially Malaysia’s lower-yielding bonds.”...