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.
All three major US stock indices closed higher on Wednesday, with a strong performance from the technology sector compensating for investor disappointment following a morning inflation report. The report diminished hopes that the Federal Reserve would cut interest rates by 50 basis points next week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 124.75 points (0.31%) to 40,861.71, the S&P 500 gained 58.61 points (1.07%) to 5,554.13, and the Nasdaq Composite surged 369.65 points (2.17%) to 17,395.53. The S&P 500 technology index led the charge, finishing up 3.3%, boosted significantly by AI chipmaker Nvidia , which added 8% following reports that the US government might allow exports of advanced chips to Saudi Arabia. This uptick in the tech sector provided essential support to the broader market, despite inflation concerns. Earlier in the day, the Labor Department's consumer price index (CPI) showed a 0.2% rise for August, aligning with July's figure, while the Core CPI ,...