KUALA LUMPUR – The ringgit rebounded against the US dollar in early trade today as the greenback fell slightly but remained supported amid anticipation the Federal Reserve would continue to keep its monetary policy stance restrictive.
At 9am, the ringgit appreciated to 4.7725/7775 versus the greenback compared with Friday’s close of 4.7750/7795.
Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid expects the ringgit to remain steady at around RM4.77 today with sentiments still weak.
He said several Fed officials last week had indicated their concern over premature easing in light of the elevated levels of inflation rate.
“The US dollar seems to be in a sweet spot given the robust US economy despite having to contend with higher rates.
“This had made it stand out from the rest of the G7 pack, leading to higher demand for the US dollar. It is quite tricky as the effect of past monetary policy actions would take some time to have a considerable impact,” he said.
At home, the ringgit was traded mostly higher against a basket of major currencies.
The local currency was higher vis-a-vis the British pound to 6.0425/0488 from 6.0437/0494 at Friday’s close, rose versus the euro to 5.1619/1673 from 5.1656/1705, but was lower against the Japanese yen at 3.1736/1772 from 3.1677/1709.
At the same time, the ringgit was mixed against other Asean currencies.
It advanced versus the Philippine peso at 8.53/8.54 from 8.54/8.55 and was higher vis-a-vis the Indonesian rupiah to 305.9/306.4 from 306.1/306.5 on Friday, but was slightly weaker against the Singapore dollar to 3.5494/5534 from 3.5489/5525 and depreciated against the Thai baht at 13.2584/2782 compared with 13.2198/2381
Meanwhile, Bursa Malaysia opened lower today amid a mixed Wall Street performance last Friday.
At 9.10am, FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI decreased 1.20 of-a-point to 1,547.91 from Friday’s close of 1,549.11.
The benchmark index opened 0.18 of-a-point weaker at 1,548.93.
Market sentiment was negative with losers surpassing gainers 230 to 221, while 289 counters were unchanged, 1,574 untraded and 29 others suspended.
Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd equity research vice president Thong Pak Leng reckons the market undertone will remain steady in the near term, supported by encouraging corporate results and an inflow of foreign funds, although profit-taking may set in.
“As such, we anticipate the benchmark index to trend within the range of 1,545-1,555 for today,” he said.
Meanwhile, he has said crude palm oil (CPO) futures are currently on an uptrend, hovering just below the RM4,000 a tonne level.
“Should the CPO futures break the RM4,000 a tonne level, we reckon investors will take positions on the plantation sector,” he added.
On the local bourse, heavyweights Maybank inched down two sen to RM9.51, while Public Bank, CIMB, Tenaga Nasional and Petronas Chemicals were each flat at RM4.48, RM6.41, RM11.28 and RM6.95.
As for the actives, Hong Seng Consolidated edged up half-a-sen to 2.5 sen, Dagang NeXchange added 1.5 sen to 37.5 sen, YTL Corporation increased three sen to RM2.50, Seng Fong and Master Tec perked by 4.5 sen each to 81.5 sen and 58 sen.
On the index board, the FBM Emas Index slid 7.32 points to 11,512.04, the FBMT 100 Index shed 8.23 points to 11,163.94, the FBM Emas Shariah Index reduced 7.19 points to 11,554.59, the FBM 70 Index narrowed 9.72 points to 15,582.80 and the FBM ACE Index was 13.12 points lower at 4,872.77.
Sector-wise, the financial services index fell 11.81 points to 17,333.58, the industrial products and services index went down 0.05 of-a-point to 177.80 and the plantation index slipped 51.54 points to 7,196.29, however the energy index was 3.98 of-a-point firmer at 933.87. – February 26, 2024