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.
Money managers are holding the highest number of short positions in US corn on record, as the outlook for more abundant supplies and lacklustre demand weigh on prices. Money managers increased their short-only holdings in Chicago corn futures and options to 507,901 contracts, surpassing the previous record of 506,000 contracts seen in 2019. The investors’ net position, which accounts for the difference in long and short holdings, was net-bearish by 353,983 contracts, also the biggest in records going back to 2006. Source: Bloomberg