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.
Amazon.com is raising the pay for its US fulfilment and transportation staff by at least US$1.50 an hour , bringing base salaries to over US$22 an hour and US$29 an hour when including benefits. The company will spend over US$2.2 billion on these wage increases, which come amidst pressure from employees for better contracts and working conditions. The wage hikes, set to roll out this month, are expected to help Amazon hire and retain workers as it approaches the busy holiday shopping season . Additionally, Amazon will provide free Prime memberships as part of its benefits package starting early next year. This move follows increasing efforts from warehouse workers to organize, with the Amazon Labor Union recently affiliating with the International Brotherhood of Teamsters . The company employs more than 800,000 workers in fulfilment and transportation roles in the US, and the starting wage for these employees was US$15 an hour in 2018.