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 Dow Jones Industrial Average closed higher on Wednesday, recovering some ground, while both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq slipped due to declines in megacap technology stocks . At the same time, bank stocks surged, fueled by positive quarterly earnings, particularly from Morgan Stanley . Morgan Stanley’s stock rose 6.7% following strong third-quarter earnings, which echoed solid profits from peers like JPMorgan Chase , boosted by higher investment banking revenue . Similarly, First Horizon gained 3.3% , and US Bancorp climbed 5% after reporting third-quarter results. The Financials sector gained 0.7% , with the Banks index up 1.1% and regional banks rising 1.3% . In contrast, megacap tech stocks weighed on the market, with Meta Platforms dropping 1.5% , Apple declining 1.4% , and Microsoft slipping 1.3% . The Communication Services sector also fell 0.7% , further dragging the market. The Dow rose 133.14 points (0.31%) to 42,872.78 , while the S&P 500 lost 5.00 ...