IT has been another eventful year for Bursa Malaysia, as the nation began transitioning to the endemic phase of Covid-19 on April 1 amid global headwinds such as high inflation, rising interest rates and geopolitical tensions. The local market — along with other Asian bourses, with the exception of Singapore’s Straits Times Index — is ending the year in negative territory. The FBM KLCI had lost 5.7% year to date (YTD) to 1,478.54 points on Dec 16 compared with the STI’s gain of 3.7%.