KUALA LUMPUR – Bursa Malaysia opened lower but rebounded thereafter, continuing the last session’s uptrend, as investor sentiment was buoyed by the overnight Wall Street gains.
At 9.05am, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) was 0.59 of-a-point higher at 1,523.48 from 1,522.89 at yesterday’s close.
The index opened 0.47 of-a-point easier at 1,522.42.
On the broader market, gainers led losers 160 to 133, while 231 counters were unchanged, 1,807 untraded and 48 others suspended.
Total volume stood at 120.44 million units worth RM70.26 million.
Meanwhile, the ringgit continued to open lower today as the greenback gained further strength as the United States’ October retail sales increased more than the expected growth of 1.7% month-on-month against 1.4% expansion as anticipated by the consensus.
At 9am, the local note fell 75 basis points to 4.1720/1755 versus the greenback from 4.1645/1680 at yesterday’s close.
Bank Islam Malaysia Bhd chief economist Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid said this suggests that Americans were unperturbed by the inflationary pressures and continued to spend, leading to higher odds that interest rate hike could happen sooner. – Bernama, November 17, 2021
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