KUALA LUMPUR – Bursa Malaysia reversed yesterday’s gains to open lower on profit taking, taking the cue from choppy trading on Wall Street.
At 9.10am, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI slipped 12.47 points to 1,557.63 from yesterday’s close of 1,570.10.
The benchmark index opened 6.70 points weaker at 1,563.40.
On the broader market, losers led gainers 201 to 171, while 238 counters were unchanged, 1,633 untraded and 16 others suspended.
Turnover stood at 250.57 million units worth RM162.12 million.
The ringgit extended its downtrend to open lower against the US dollar today on a stronger US dollar index as the US Treasury went up amid fears of a further acceleration of global inflation, said an analyst.
At 9am, the local currency dropped to 4.3760/3820 versus the US dollar from yesterday’s close of 4.3755/3780.
Bank Islam chief economist Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid said while investors turned to the default safe haven amid uncertainty, the ringgit is likely to remain soft as market sentiment was much fixated towards the US Federal Reserve’s move on interest rates. – Bernama, June 1, 2022