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.
Global stocks dipped on Wednesday, with China’s stimulus-fueled rally standing out as a bright spot amid broader declines. European markets fell 0.1% , while Wall Street futures pointed to losses, with S&P 500 futures down 0.2% . Oil and gas shares led the losses, as concerns mounted that China’s stimulus might not sufficiently boost demand. The US dollar weakened, hitting a one-month low against the euro and a two-and-a-half-year low against the British pound, following US consumer confidence data that showed the largest decline since August 2021. This data increased expectations of a 50-basis point interest rate cut at the Federal Reserve’s next meeting in November. In China, the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) followed its broad policy easing with a cut to medium-term lending rates . Mainland Chinese blue-chip stocks rose 1.4% , adding to a 4.3% gain from the previous day. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index also climbed 0.7% . Despite the stimulus measures, some analysts expre...