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 private debt industry, valued at $1.7 trillion (RM7.34 trillion) , is facing a plateau in growth from its traditional source of funds— institutional investors like asset managers and pension funds, according to data from PitchBook . Money raised through funds targeted to institutional investors is expected to remain flat this year compared to last, prompting private credit investors to seek new growth avenues. Shift from Traditional Funding Sources Investment in traditional closed-end vehicles, also known as drawdown funds , has steadily declined since 2021 and is anticipated to remain flat. With central banks likely to cut interest rates soon, the appeal of private debt, primarily comprising floating-rate instruments, has diminished. In the first half of this year, only 59 traditional funds focused on private debt were closed, down from 68 during the same period in 2023, and fundraising volume fell to $90.9 billion from $98.9 billion over the same timeframe. “You are startin...