KUALA LUMPUR – The ringgit has rebounded this morning against the US dollar as investors shrugged off US higher-than-expected consumer price index (CPI) data.
At 9am, the ringgit appreciated to 4.6405/6455 versus the greenback from yesterday’s close of 4.6425/6455, reported Bernama.
Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid said the US headline CPI and core CPI came in slightly higher in December at 3.4% and 3.9%, respectively, against consensus estimates of 3.2% and 3.8%.
Two- and 10-year US Treasury yields were down by 6.0 and 11 basis points to 4.25% and 3.97%, respectively. Similarly, the US Dollar Index declined 0.04% to 102.325 points.
The ringgit also traded higher against Asean currencies.
It strengthened against the Singapore dollar to 3.4878/4918 from 3.4901/4926 at yesterday’s close and rose vis-à-vis the Philippine peso to 8.28/8.29 from 8.29/8.30.
The local currency was slightly better versus the Indonesian rupiah at 298.4/298.8 from 298.5/298.8 and gained against the Thai baht to 13.2287/2505 from 13.2408/2551 previously.
However, the ringgit traded lower against a basket of major currencies.
It weakened versus the euro to 5.0929/0984 from 5.0896/0929 yesterday, depreciated vis-a-vis the British pound to 5.9250/9314 from 5.9141/9179, and decreased against the Japanese yen to 3.1944/1981 from 3.1896/1919.
Bursa Malaysia opened higher today despite Wall Street’s overnight flattish tone after the US’ December’s inflation came in higher than expected, raising new questions about the Federal Reserve’s path on interest rates.
At 9.09am today, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) edged up 1.09 points to 1,484.09 from yesterday’s close of 1,483.00. The FBM KLCI opened 0.24 of-a-point firmer at 1,483.24.
On the broader market, losers outnumbered gainers 169 to 164, while 304 counters were unchanged, 1,582 untraded, and 29 suspended. Turnover amounted to 264.85 million units worth RM127.67 million.
Among the heavyweights, Maybank increased 1 sen to RM9.01, CIMB perked by 3 sen to RM5.98, Petronas Chemicals rose 5 sen to RM6.93, Public Bank eased 1 sen to RM4.29, while Tenaga Nasional was flat at RM10.44.
Of the actives, Sarawak Cable went up 2.5 sen to 33 sen, Ekovest put on 2 sen to 56.5 sen, Sarawak Consolidated inched up 1 sen to RM1.13 while Hong Seng Consolidated and Eastern & Oriental were flat at 2 sen and 75 sen, respectively.
On the index board, the FBM 70 Index recovered 0.99 of-a-point to 15,115.46, the FBMT 100 Index expanded 6.05 points to 10,735.57, the FBM Emas Shariah Index improved 13.06 points to 11,250.41, and the FBM Emas Index garnered 6.23 points to 11,089.39, but the FBM ACE Index slid 10.14 points to 5,404.48.
Sector-wise, the Industrial Products and Services Index was 0.56 of-a-point higher at 175.59, the Financial Services Index was up by 0.67 of-a-point to 16,537.32, the Energy Index strengthened 3.44 points to 866.06, the Plantation Index climbed by 7.85 points to 7,138.47, but the Property Index was down by 2.31 points to 885.83. – January 12, 2024