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KUALA LUMPUR – The ringgit extended yesterday’s losses to open marginally lower against the US dollar today as more investors shifted towards safe havens due to the cautious global economic outlook, dealers said.
At 9.05am, the local currency slipped to 4.4450/4485 versus the greenback from yesterday’s close of 4.4435/4450.
ActivTrades trader Dyogenes Rodrigues Diniz said the greenback rose against the ringgit today, on the back of the release of producer price index (PPI) data that measures inflation from a business perspective.
The PPI came in much higher than expected, reinforcing worries over rampant inflation in the United States. This leads investors to think that the US Federal Reserve will have to act even more severely to contain the price rise. Initial unemployment claims data also came in worse than expected.
“From a technical point of view, USD/MYR is at the highest level since the beginning of the pandemic. A break above 4.4500 could make room for further increase,” he said today.
The local unit was traded mostly higher against a basket of major currencies.
It appreciated against the British pound to 5.2580/2621 from 5.2762/2780 yesterday, increased versus the euro to 4.4543/4578 from 4.4635/4650 and higher vis-a-vis the Singapore dollar at 3.1664/1694 from 3.1717/1732 yesterday.
The ringgit, however, weakened against the Japanese yen to 3.2011/2040 from 3.2009/2022 previously.
The FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) opened flat but turned lower thereafter as sentiments remained jittery following the global economic outlook uncertainties, a dealer said.
At 9.10am, the FBM KLCI fell 1.57 points to 1,418.49 from yesterday’s close of 1,420.06.
The barometer index opened unchanged at 1,420.06.
Meanwhile, on the broader market, gainers led losers 135 to 128, while 206 counters were unchanged, 1,807 untraded and 20 others suspended.
Turnover stood at 167.08 million units worth RM39.18 million.
Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd said in a note that the local bourse may remain sour over the near term, taking the cue from the mixed sentiment on Wall Street amid dismal earnings from banks.
“Investors may tune into stocks with minimal borrowings under the consumer and REIT sectors in view of the interest rate upcycle environment,” it said
Among the heavyweights, Maybank eased one sen to RM8.61, Public Bank and CIMB lost two sen to RM4.38 and RM5.08 respectively, Petronas Chemicals gained three sen to RM8.06 and IHH Healthcare stayed flat at RM6.44.
Of the actives, Metronic increased half-a-sen to 9.5 sen, Fitters Diversified and BCM Alliance added one sen to 7.5 sen and three sen respectively and BSL Corporation was half-a-sen higher at 10 sen.
On the index board, the FBM Emas Index went down 9.11 points to 10,052.79, the FBM Emas Shariah Index inched down 4.73 points to 10,087.53, the FBM 70 was 6.24 points lower at 12,015.79, the FBMT 100 Index lost 9.49 points to 9,819.98 and the FBM ACE edged up 23.06 points to 4,575.88.
Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index declined 39.35 points to 16,020.85, the Industrial Products and Services Index was 0.21 of-a-point lower at 167.82 and the Plantation Index gained 3.96 points to 6,673.17. – Bernama, July 15, 2022
