KUALA LUMPUR – The ringgit staged a rebound this morning, opening higher against the US dollar as the greenback slipped on unexpected data print, an economist said.
At 9am, the local note rose to 4.6030/6100 versus the greenback compared with yesterday’s closing of 4.6185/6235.
Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist and social finance head Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid said the United States Initial Jobless Claims rose to 261,000 last week – higher than the consensus estimates of 235,000, which led to the devaluation of the US dollar.
Meanwhile, Bursa Malaysia rebounded to open higher today, taking its cue from Wall Street’s strong overnight performance ahead of the US Federal Reserve interest rate decision next week.
At 9.10am, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI rose 3.09 points to 1,377.73 from 1,374.64 at yesterday’s close.
The key index opened 0.94 points firmer at 1,375.58.
The broader market was positive, with advancers leading decliners 175 to 112, while 268 counters were unchanged, 1,688 untraded, and 21 others suspended.
Turnover was 310.16 million units, worth RM63.66 million. – Bernama, June 9, 2023
