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KUALA LUMPUR – The ringgit opened lower against the United States dollar today as the market awaits the latest development on Russia-Ukraine geopolitical tensions and ahead of a handful of speeches from US Federal Reserve policymakers, as well as data releases.
At 9.06am, the local currency fell to 4.1860/1895 versus the greenback from Friday’s close of 4.1845/1870.
A dealer said the Russia-Ukraine crisis appears to be the primary driver for currency markets, and the US economic data due out this week will put additional pressure on the forex market and send traders to the sidelines.
“US Fed Governor Michelle Bowman will speak today at the American Bankers Association Conference for Community Bankers, and there will be US manufacturing data, as well as the second estimate of the fourth quarter of 2021 US gross domestic product report later this week,” he added.
The local note was traded mostly higher against a basket of major currencies.
It rose against the Singapore dollar to 3.1111/1139 from 3.1149/1170 at Friday’s close, appreciated vis-a-vis the British pound to 5.6930/6977 from 5.7001/7035 and improved against the euro to 4.7427/7467 from 4.7578/7606.
The local note, however, eased versus the yen to 3.6391/6424 from 3.6340/6361.
Bursa Malaysia opened slightly lower today, tracking weaker performance on Wall Street as ongoing tensions in Ukraine continue to dominate market directions with all major indices slumping, a dealer said.
At 9.05am, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) eased 1.81 points to 1,601.24 from 1,603.05 at Friday’s close, after opening 1.39 points lower at 1,601.66.
However, on the broader market, gainers led decliners 190 to 171, while 282 counters were unchanged, 1,595 untraded and nine others suspended.
Turnover stood at 261.52 million units worth RM105.07 million.
Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd vice-president of equity research Thong Pak Leng said the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 233 points to just above the 34,000 mark, while Nasdaq shed 169 points as funds rotated from equities to bonds.
“As such, the US 10-year yield ended lower at around 1.93%,” he said.
On the domestic front, he said the FBM KLCI lost some ground amid some healthy corrections to remain above the 1,600 level.
“We believe sentiment on the local bourse is still positive, buoyed by the influx of foreign funds.
“Despite the heightened market volatility, we expect the index to hover within the range of 1,595-1,605 today,” he said.
Among the heavyweights, Maybank rose by four sen to RM8.70, Public Bank and CIMB were unchanged at RM4.39 and RM5.60, respectively, Petronas Chemicals added one sen to RM9.22, while IHH Healthcare declined four sen to RM6.51.
As for the actives, Ta Win Holdings and KNM Group added half-a-sen and one sen to 19 sen, respectively, while Xidelang Holdings shed half-a-sen to 3.5 sen.
On the index board, FBM ACE decreased 6.40 points to 6,288.36, FBM 70 reduced 6.13 points to 13,738.61, FBM Emas Index declined 5.84 points to 11,445.67, FBMT 100 Index inched down 10.91 points to 11,114.24, and FBM Emas Shariah Index slid 14.25 points to 12,196.46.
Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index gained 1.45 points to 16,402.13, the Industrial Products and Services Index was 0.78 of-a-point lower at 210.85, and the Plantation Index expanded 68.53 points to 8,188.76. – Bernama, February 21, 2022