KUALA LUMPUR – The ringgit opened lower again today as demand for the US dollar strengthened following US retail sales data which picked up further in January, beating market expectations, analysts said.
At 9.01am, the ringgit dropped to 4.4170/4205 versus the greenback from yesterday’s closing of 4.3900/3945.
SPI Asset Management managing director Stephen Innes said the resilient US retail sales reading which rose 3% in January 2023 from -1.1% in December 2022 suggested that while inflation was moderating, consumers were still spending.
“While underlying inflation remains elevated amid tight labour markets, further evidence that strong US consumer demand is likely driving prices upward and remains a concern.
“How the US Federal Reserve will respond to this data is an open question,” said Innes.
Back home, the ringgit was mostly lower against a basket of major currencies.
It fell against the Singapore dollar to 3.3044/3073 from 3.2926/2962 at yesterday’s close and weakened against the Japanese yen to 3.2926/2954 from 3.2909/2947 yesterday.
The ringgit slipped vis-a-vis the euro to 4.7209/7246 from 4.7083/7131 but marginally improved versus the British pound to 5.3079/3121 from 5.3093/3147 yesterday.
Bursa Malaysia retreated from yesterday’s gains and opened marginally lower today as investors turned cautious in view of the strong US retail data, which might indicate potential interest rate hikes by the Fed going forward.
At 9.10am, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) eased by 1.05 points to 1,48714 from yesterday’s close of 1,488.19.
The key index opened 0.35 of-a-point weaker at 1,487.84.
Market breadth, however, was positive with gainers leading losers 177 to 158, while 258 counters were unchanged, 1,620 untraded, and 16 others suspended.
Turnover amounted to 314.58 million units worth RM127.34 million.
In a note today, Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd said the US stock markets closed higher as the Dow Jones Index rose 0.1%, which was buoyed by the strong retail sales data that expanded 6.4% year-on-year in January 2023.
“While Wall Street notched higher overnight, we believe global sentiment could remain shaky in view of the strong retail data, which might indicate potential interest rate hikes by the Fed going forward.
“However, closer to home, investors might be relatively positive prior to the earnings season and the retabling of Budget 2023 next week,” the brokerage said.
Commodities-wise, the firm said the Brent oil price stayed above US$85 per barrel, while the crude palm oil price hovered above RM3,900 per tonne.
On a sector focus, the technology sector may be in focus as the Nasdaq crossed above the key 12,000 level overnight.
“Besides, the banking, telecommunications, REIT and selected consumer stocks might be under the limelight amid persistent buying from foreign funds,” it added.
Among the heavyweights, Maybank lost 2.0 sen to RM8.78, and both Public Bank and Petronas Chemicals fell 1.0 sen each to RM4.17 and RM8.21. CIMB and Tenaga Nasional were flat at RM5.43 and RM9.95 respectively.
As for the actives, MYEG decreased 1.5 sen to 68 sen, Iris slid half-a-sen to 11.5 sen. Hong Seng added half-a-sen to 22 sen, Perdana Petroleum rose 1.0 sen to 19.5 sen while CSH Alliance was flat at 4.5 sen.
On the index board, the FBM Emas Index decreased 7.89 points to 10,818.74, the FBMT 100 Index went down 8.44 points to 10,485.04, and the FBM Emas Shariah Index slipped 6.18 points to 11,167.19. and the FBM 70 Index weakened 15.57 points to 13,633.72. The FBM ACE Index was 9.12 points firmer at 5,719.96.
Sector-wise, the Plantation Index widened by 5.70 points to 6,908.60 and the Energy Index rose 0.53 of-a-point to 893.17. The Industrial Products and Services Index eased 0.44 of-a-point to 190.27, and the Financial Services Index slipped 23.14 points to 16,137.91. – Bernama, February 16, 2023
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