KUALA LUMPUR – Bursa Malaysia has remained in positive territory at mid-morning on continued bargain hunting in financial-linked counters, led by Maybank, Public Bank and CIMB.
At 11.05am, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI rose 1.62 points to 1,595.37 from yesterday’s close of 1,593.75.
The barometer index opened 4.64 points firmer at 1,598.39.
On the broader market, however, losers edged past gainers 366 to 348, while 387 counters were unchanged, 1,161 untraded and 16 others suspended.
Total turnover stood at 1.25 billion units worth RM597.96 million.
Heavyweights Maybank added 5 sen to RM8.85, Public Bank gained 1 sen to RM4.66, CIMB increased 5 sen to RM5.14, Petronas Chemicals rose 6 sen to RM10.36 and IHH Healthcare grew 2 sen to RM6.54.
Of the actives, both Vizione and MNC Wireless inched up 0.5 sen to 10.5 sen and 3 sen, respectively, and Tanco was up 2.5 sen to 34.5 sen, while Sapura Energy was flat at 4 sen and Fitters lost 1 sen to 13 sen.
On the index board, FBMT 100 Index increased 8.47 points to 11,102.75 and FBM Emas Index was 10.72 points firmer at 11,460.70, while FBM Emas Shariah Index fell 12.66 points to 12,118.919, FBM 70 shrank 0.85 of-a-point to 13,821.27, and FBM ACE lost 29.49 points to 5,780.40.
Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index improved 72.60 points to 16,651.01, the Industrial Products and Services Index inched up 0.79 of-a-point to 215.97, and the Plantation Index added 1.30 points to 8,608.68.
Meanwhile, the ringgit continued to remain weak in the early session today amidst expectations that the United States Federal Reserve (Fed) would raise its interest rates in its upcoming meeting in early May, said an analyst.
At 9am, the local note, which slipped to a 22-month low at the close yesterday, had weakened further to 4.2830/2890 versus the US dollar from 4.2800/2830 yesterday.
Bank Islam Malaysia Bhd chief economist Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid said he expects the ringgit to trade in a narrow range today as market participants focus on the Fed’s next move.
“Tonight, Fed chair Jerome Powell will speak as a guest panellist at the International Monetary Fund’s seminar. Chances are he will want to reiterate the Fed’s stance on its monetary tightening.
“Meanwhile, there seems to be an expectation that the inflation rate might reach its peak soon, however, it might be too early to tell,” he said.
Afzanizam added that supply disruptions caused by the lockdowns in various parts of China would exert pressure on prices as it might affect the delivery of important parts across the globe.
“This is in addition to the ongoing military conflict that led to elevated commodity prices.
“In a nutshell, the forex market can be very edgy due to heightened uncertainties. Along the way, forex market players might seek refuge in safe-haven currencies such as the US dollar,” he added.
Market participants would also keep their eyes on Malaysia’s consumer price index for March, due to be announced tomorrow.
Meanwhile, SPI Asset Management managing partner Stephen Innes said the domestic unit would get a little reprieve today as US bond yields slipped and the US dollar was a touch weaker versus the Japanese yen.
“That said, the yuan – to which the ringgit has a strong correlation – could stay weak if the People’s Bank of China (PBoC) continues to guide the yuan weaker to increase exports.
“Ideally, the ringgit would do better if the PBoC cut interest rates to stimulate domestic growth and imports. That hasn’t happened,” he said.
Meanwhile, the ringgit was traded mixed against a basket of major currencies.
The local note rose versus the yen to 3.3427/3476 from 3.3432/3458 yesterday and increased against the euro to 4.6415/6480 from 4.6468/6501 previously.
However, it had depreciated against the Singapore dollar to 3.1380/1426 from yesterday’s close of 3.1371/1398 and decreased vis-a-vis the British pound to 5.5910/5989 from 5.5781/5820 previously. – Bernama, April 21, 2022
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