KUALA LUMPUR – The ringgit remained strong against the US dollar, supported by higher oil prices amid worries over the crisis in eastern Europe, analysts said.
At 9am, the local note stood at 4.1930/1965 versus the greenback from yesterday’s close of 4.1970/2015.
Brent crude remained above US$100 (RM419.70) per barrel, currently trading 3.12% higher at US$100.99 per barrel.
Bank Islam Malaysia Bhd chief economist Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid said the US dollar continued to remain a highly sought after currency with the US Dollar Index rising 0.1% to 96.716 points.
“The Russian ruble nosedived yesterday while their central bank had to raise the benchmark interest from 9.5% to 20% in a bid to curb the fallout of their currencies following a stiffer sanction imposed by Western countries.
“There seems to be some positive development whereby the two nations, Ukraine and Russia have agreed to ceasefire talks, although this can be too preliminary,” he said.
As such, Afzanizam anticipates the ringgit should stay in a narrow margin of between RM4.19 and RM4.20 per US dollar today as development in Ukraine will continue to dictate market sentiments.
Meanwhile, the ringgit also traded lower against a basket of other major currencies.
Against the Singapore dollar, the local note declined to 3.0915/0943 from 3.0897/0934 at yesterday’s close and slipped to 5.6241/6288 vis-a-vis the British pound from 5.6139/6199.
It fell to 3.6379/6412 versus the Japanese yen from 3.6319/6361 and dropped against the euro to 4.6987/7026 from 4.6922/6973 previously.
Bursa Malaysia opened higher in early trade today, given the increasing inflows of foreign funds, firmer crude palm oil prices that translates into upside in the plantation sector, and a decent performance in the banking sector’s results, a dealer said.
At 9.04am, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI rose 10.45 points to 1,618.73 compared with 1,608.28 at yesterday’s close.
The index opened 0.28 of-a-point better at 1,608.56.
On the broader market, gainers led losers 222 to 112, while 203 counters were unchanged, 1,710 untraded and 18 others suspended.
Turnover stood at 165.36 million units valued at RM92.46 million.
Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd believes that the positive sentiment will continue on the local bourse despite mixed sentiment on Wall Street due to the on-going concern over the geopolitical conflict between Russia and Ukraine.
Nevertheless, it said upside might be capped with the unsettled Russia-Ukraine geopolitical tension.
“Meanwhile, investors should keep an eye on Bank Negara Malaysia’s interest rate decision on Thursday,” it said in a note today.
The brokerage remains optimistic on the outlook for the energy, banking, plantation and consumer sectors amid firmed crude oil and crude palm oil prices, and the recovery in the business activities overall.
Among heavyweights, Hong Leong Financial edged up 18 sen to RM19.50, Petronas Dagangan added 16 sen to RM21.68, Hong Leong Bank strengthened 32 sen to RM20.38, Petronas Gas stronger 26 sen to 17.66, while Tenaga Nasional was flat at RM9.17.
Of the actives, Sanichi Technology was unchanged at three sen, Matang Bhd gained one sen to 11.5 sen, and Berjaya Corporation rose 1.5 sen to 25 sen.
On the index board, the FBM Emas Index was 70.93 points higher at 11,497.72, the FBMT 100 Index up 70.77 points to 11,176.64, the FBM Emas Shariah Index increased 104.25 points to 12,221.84, the FBM 70 firmed 79.87 points to 13,555.93, and the FBM ACE strengthened 29.94 points to 5,917.72.
Sector-wise, the Industrial Products and Services Index edged up 3.46 points to 214.34, the Financial Services Index rose 70.71 points to 16,595.62, and the Plantation Index perked 97.50 points to 8,413.01. – Bernama, March 1, 2022
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