KUALA LUMPUR – Bursa Malaysia opened lower today in line with the weaker Wall Street performance overnight, amid concerns over the impending United States Federal Reserve tapering.
At 9.08am, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) declined 2.73 points to 1,528.9 from yesterday’s close of 1,531.63.
The market bellwether opened 0.67 of-a-point lower at 1,530.96.
On the broader market, losers led gainers 209 to 142, while 272 counters were unchanged, 1,556 untraded and 10 others suspended.
Meanwhile, the ringgit slid by 70 basis points against the US dollar today despite firmer crude oil prices, as cautious sentiment prevailed after the local Covid-19 daily tally rose above 7,000 yesterday.
At 9am, the local note was traded at 4.1600/1620 against the greenback from 4.1530/1560 at yesterday’s close.
ActivTrades trader Dyogenes Rodrigues Diniz said with the number of new cases rising once again, it is possible that the local authorities will impose more movement restrictions, which could cause the ringgit to resume its depreciation against the US dollar. – Bernama, July 7, 2021
