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.
After Friday’s sharp sell-off, US stocks staged a strong comeback Monday as weaker-than-expected payrolls fueled optimism for interest rate cuts . “Fed operates with a lag, so markets are reacting in real time,” – Allianz Investment Rate Cut Watch September rate cut odds: 84% (CME FedWatch) Investors now pricing in 2 cuts by year-end Trump fired BLS Commissioner, adding uncertainty over jobs data accuracy Fed Governor Adriana Kugler resigns ➝ opens door for Trump-aligned replacement Key Index Moves (as of 11:39am ET) Dow Jones : ▲ 463.55 pts to 44,052.13 (+1.06%) S&P 500 : ▲ 74.56 pts to 6,312.57 (+1.2%) – biggest gain in 2+ months Nasdaq : ▲ 325.95 pts to 20,976.08 (+1.58%) All Sectors in the Green Communication Services led with +2% Rate-sensitive tech stocks outperformed Factory orders dropped 4.8% in June ➝ reinforcing slowdown fears Stock Movers Tesla : ▲1.2% (El...