Bursa opens higher, ringgit retreats from gains

KUALA LUMPUR – Bursa Malaysia opened higher today, tracking further gains on Wall Street overnight amid improving market sentiment.

At 9.10am, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI increased 6.49 points to 1,429.08 from Friday’s closing of 1,422.59.

The main index opened 4.18 points higher at 1,426.77.

Market breadth was positive as gainers thumped decliners 295 to 90, while 219 counters were unchanged, 1,622 untraded and 32 others suspended.

The ringgit retreated from its gains last week to open lower against the US dollar today as the surprise move by the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies (Opec+) over the weekend affected market sentiment, said an economist.

Yesterday, Saudi Arabia and other Opec+ oil producers reportedly announced a further reduction of its production quota by more than 1.2 million barrels per day.

At press time, the benchmark Brent crude oil rose by 5.70% to US$84.44 per barrel.

At 9am, the local note fell to 4.4200/4240 versus the US dollar compared with last Friday’s closing rate of 4.4120/4170. – Bernama, April 3, 2023