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KUALA LUMPUR – The ringgit opened slightly higher against the US dollar today in tandem with the Chinese yuan following positive development in Shanghai, an analyst said.
At 9.02am, the local note stood at 4.3840/3890 versus the greenback from yesterday’s close of 4.3880/3915.
SPI Asset Management managing partner Stephen Innes said the yuan strengthened amid risk-on sentiment as Shanghai aims to reopen businesses in the next two weeks, boosting the ringgit and other regional Chinese foreign exchange proxies.
Shanghai has achieved zero-Covid-19 status across its districts and the city is expected to gradually open up, aiming to resume normal life by June 1.
Meanwhile, Bank Islam Malaysia Bhd chief economist Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid said the slight appreciation of the ringgit was also supported by developments in China’s tech sector.
“China’s authorities seem to be more relaxed on the technology sector after more than a year of crackdown on the industries.
“This could give some hope to the industries, alongside with further relaxations on Covid-19 measures, in Shanghai.
“In a nutshell, the market seems to be calm and receptive, paving the way for some buying opportunities in risky assets such as equities,” he said.
The ringgit was, however, traded mostly lower against a basket of major currencies.
It fell against the Singapore dollar to 3.1651/1690 from yesterday’s close of 3.1643/1671 and decreased vis-a-vis the euro to 4.6273/6326 from 4.5969/6005.
The ringgit slid versus the British pound to 5.4743/4805 from 5.4653/4696 yesterday and strengthened versus the Japanese yen to 3.3911/3952 from 3.3939/3969.
Bursa Malaysia extended yesterday’s gains to open higher on the back of return of buying interest in selected commodity and oil and gas-related heavyweights.
At 9.05am, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI rose 5.18 points to 1,553.78 from yesterday’s close of 1,548.60.
The benchmark index opened 5.55 points higher at 1,554.15.
On the broader market, gainers surpassed decliners 213 to 109, while 231 counters were unchanged, 1,702 untraded, and 11 others suspended.
Total turnover stood at 344.01 million units worth RM95.18 million.
Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd, in a note today, said it expects the broad-based recovery on the local bourse to extend in tandem with the rebound on Wall Street overnight following the release of US retail sales data in April and optimism on China’s easing of lockdowns.
“On the commodity markets, crude oil has taken some pullback, but is hovering above US$110 (RM483.40) per barrel.
“Meanwhile, crude palm oil (CPO) is priced around RM6,150 per tonne. Do note that Indonesian farmers protested against export sales ban on palm oil, which may potentially cause an impact on the CPO price,” it said.
The research firm said further buying interest is also expected in the technology sector following Nasdaq’s strong rally overnight.
Among the heavyweights, Maybank and Public Bank added one sen each to RM8.96 and RM4.54, respectively, Petronas Chemicals improved 10 sen to RM10.12, IHH Healthcare rose seven sen to RM6.50, and CIMB gained two sen to RM5.08.
Of the top gainers, Malaysian Pacific Industries and KL Kepong advanced 46 sen each to RM32/16 and RM27.16, respectively, Petron Malaysia widened 23 sen to RM6.94, Batu Kawan bagged 18 sen to RM27.50, and Gas Malaysia rose 15 sen to RM3.14.
On the index board, FBM ACE increased 12.91 points to 5,376.15, FBM Emas Index advanced 40.73 points to 11,101.14, FBMT 100 Index firmed 39.31 points to 10,764.39, FBM Emas Shariah Index widened 49.75 points to 11,599.02, and FBM 70 added 62.06 points to 13,200.91.
Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index increased 39.55 points to 16,574.04, the Industrial Products and Services Index was 0.56 of-a-point higher at 200.98, and the Plantation Index climbed 34.62 points to 8,294.81. – Bernama, May 18, 2022