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.
Poh Kong Holdings Bhd (KL: POHKONG) reported a record-breaking annual earnings of RM116.9 million for its financial year 2024, a 49% increase from RM78.4 million in FY2023. The surge in earnings is attributed to rising gold prices , which hit an all-time high of US$2,636.85 (RM11,003.58) per ounce on Tuesday, driven by dovish signals from the US Federal Reserve and escalating tensions in the Middle East. The company’s cumulative revenue for FY2024, which ended on July 31, rose by 11.7% to RM1.64 billion , up from RM1.47 billion in FY2023. Earnings per share also climbed to 28.49 sen , compared to 19.12 sen in the previous year. For the fourth quarter, net profit skyrocketed more than fourfold to RM22.03 million from RM4.98 million a year ago, while revenue grew 8.5% to RM342.5 million . The company credited this growth to increased demand for gold jewellery and gold investment products . In response to its strong financial performance, Poh Kong has proposed a final single...