KUALA LUMPUR – Bursa Malaysia opened lower today on profit-taking activities after yesterday’s strong performance and amid weaker Wall Street performance overnight.
At 9.06am, the benchmark FBM KLCI fell 9.02 points, or 0.57%, to 1,579.43 from 1,588.45 at yesterday’s close.
The key index opened 0.44 of-a-point higher at 1,588.89.
On the broader market, losers led gainers 325 to 189, while 304 counters were unchanged, 1,335 untraded and nine others suspended.
The ringgit failed to maintain its gains at the opening, as it traded lower by 30 basis points against the US dollar, on lack of buying interest, said an analyst.
At 9.05am, the local currency fell to 4.0520/0570 against the greenback from 4.0490/0530 at yesterday’s close.
Axi chief global market strategist Stephen Innes said sentiment remains prone to the broader US dollar reaction to higher US yields, especially if it starts to outpace other countries’ bond yield bounce.
“Today’s higher oil prices should offset the climb in US yields to allow the ringgit to trade within its current range but likely a touch weaker (at the opening),” he told Bernama.
Innes said investors await the OPEC+ output cut decision later today. At the time of writing, Brent crude rose 0.22% to US$64.21 per barrel.
Meanwhile, the ringgit traded higher against other major currencies.
It appreciated against the Singapore dollar to 3.0407/0451 from 3.0446/0487 yesterday and rose versus the British pound to 5.6452/6538 from 5.6605/6673.
It improved against the euro to 4.8843/8907 from 4.8993/9058 and increased vis-à-vis the Japanese yen to 3.7855/7905 from 3.7877/7921. – Bernama, March 4, 2021
