KUALA LUMPUR – The ringgit remained unchanged against the US dollar at today’s opening after Bank Negara Malaysia’s (BNM) move to maintain the overnight policy rate at 1.75%, as well as the Statistics Department’s report on the unemployment rate, which remained at 4.8% in July.
At 9.05am, the local note stood at 4.1470/1490 against the greenback from 4.1470/1500 recorded at yesterday’s closing.
Traders are saying that the central bank’s decision may provide some stability for the local note, with support located at around 4.1200.
Meanwhile, Bursa Malaysia extended its downtrend to open lower today, tracking the downbeat overnight performance of US stock markets on mounting concerns over the spread of the Covid-19 Delta variant that may impede economic growth, dealers said.
At 9.10am, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) eased 3.19 points to 1,575.70 from yesterday’s close of 1,578.89.
It opened 2.75 points lower at 1,576.14.
Market breadth was negative with losers surpassing gainers 204 to 174, while 306 counters were unchanged, 1,563 untraded, and six others suspended.
Turnover stood at 409.70 million units worth RM144.65 million.
In a note today, Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd said overall, the FBM KLCI and the broader market had declined as foreign funds reverted to net selling with a net outflow of RM63.0 million yesterday after 12 consecutive sessions of net buying.
It said glove counters had also extended their retreat amid the rising vaccination rate.
“Nevertheless, we expect the recovery theme (counters) to remain in focus in the anticipation of the resumption of more economic activities, where most stocks might be oversold after being bashed down yesterday,” it said.
On commodities, it noted that crude palm oil and crude oil prices had dipped, while the aluminium price continued to trend higher.
The brokerage firm added that investors are likely to remain optimistic on the recovery theme, focusing on recovery sectors such as construction, building, material, banking, and consumers as well as transportation and logistics.
It also took note of Finance Minister Datuk Seri Tengku Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz’s keynote address at the National Recovery Summit yesterday, where he said that the government is aiming to have 5G coverage in 80% of populated areas by end-2024.
“This may bode well for 5G-related counters,” it said.
Among the heavyweights, Maybank and Petronas Chemicals added three sen each to RM8.29 and RM7.88, respectively IHH Healthcare rose 11 sen to RM6.72, Tenaga Nasional shed two sen to RM10.24 while Public Bank was flat at RM4.10.
Of the actives, KNM added one sen to 27 sen, Tanco edged up half-a-sen to 24 sen, Dagang Nexchange slid one sen to 72.5 sen, while TFP Solution and Impiana were flat 23 sen and 9.5 sen, respectively.
On the index board, the FBM Emas Index fell 14.53 points to 11,520.0, the FBMT 100 Index was 15.80 points lower at 11,215.87, and the FBM Emas Shariah Index slipped 25.55 points to 12,614.99.
The FBM 70 improved 5.87 points to 15,070.36 and the FBM ACE added 9.30 points to 7,202.86.
Sector-wise, the Plantation Index declined 20.75 points to 6,632.96, the Industrial Products and Services Index eased 1.19 points to 199.76, while the Financial Services Index gained 5.45 points to 15,394.36. – Bernama, September 10, 2021
