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.
Gold surged to a record high on Wednesday, driven by a weaker US dollar and mounting expectations for additional interest rate cuts . Investors are closely watching for signals from the Federal Reserve regarding future rate moves. Spot gold reached US$2,670.43 per ounce earlier in the day, before settling at US$2,658.08 as of 0557 GMT. US gold futures also gained 0.2%, reaching US$2,682.10 . The US dollar eased by 0.2%, making dollar-priced gold more attractive for foreign currency holders. This comes on the heels of China’s announcement of aggressive stimulus measures , including substantial rate cuts, following the Fed's recent 50-basis-point rate cut last week. Markets are now betting on a 60% chance of another 50 bps cut in November. Kelvin Wong, senior market analyst at OANDA, noted that China’s liquidity boost is likely to increase demand for gold from Chinese investors. He added that gold's short-term bullish trend remains strong, with potential resistance at...