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 US Justice Department has charged four individuals in an alleged scheme to illegally export Nvidia’s high-end AI chips to China — a case that has intensified calls in Washington for strict, end-to-end tracking of advanced semiconductors. According to prosecutors, two US citizens and two Chinese nationals conspired to bypass export controls by funnelling Nvidia A100, H100 and H200 GPUs through Malaysia and Thailand using fake contracts and falsified paperwork. Authorities say the group successfully shipped 400 A100 GPUs into China between October 2024 and January 2025 before US law enforcement intercepted further attempts involving 10 supercomputers and dozens of top-tier GPUs. Congress Pushes for Chip Security Act The revelations prompted immediate political reaction. John Moolenaar, chair of the US House Select Committee on China, urged Congress to quickly pass the bipartisan Chip Security Act , legislation he introduced earlier this year. “China recognises the superiority of...