KUALA LUMPUR – The ringgit retreated against the stronger US dollar this morning, ahead of Bank Negara Malaysia’s decision on the overnight policy rate (OPR) today.
At 9.05am, the local note stood at 4.1525/1550 against the greenback from 4.1495/1530 recorded at yesterday’s closing.
Bursa Malaysia opened lower today, tracking the downbeat overnight performance of the United States and European stock markets amid protracted concerns on slower economic growth prospects, dealers said.
At 9.10am, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia (FBM) KLCI eased 9.91 points to 1,587.72 from yesterday’s close of 1,597.63.
It opened 5.45 points lower at 1,592.18.
Market breadth was negative with losers edging past gainers 197 to 161, while 275 counters were unchanged, 1,586 untraded, and six others suspended.
Turnover stood at 209.25 million units worth RM93.14 million.
In a note today, Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd said the country’s economic recovery seems to be on track with Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya transitioning to Phase 2 of the National Recovery Plan starting tomorrow, and active cases dropping for the eighth consecutive day.
“Investors might become more optimistic going forward. However, they might be slightly cautious ahead of the OPR decision by Bank Negara Malaysia today, which would provide clues to the current economic situation and future recovery outlook for Malaysia,” it said.
On commodities, it said that both crude palm oil and crude oil prices were on the rise.
Malacca Securities also noted that the reopening of more economic sectors may bode well for the recovery theme sectors, such as consumer-related, construction, and property-related counters, while the surge in CPO price may attract buying interest in plantation counters.
Among the heavyweights, Maybank added two sen to RM8.33, Petronas Chemicals gained five sen to RM8.14, Tenaga Nasional bagged four sen to RM10.34, and IHH Healthcare rose 13 sen to RM6.53, while Public Bank eased three sen to RM4.12.
Of the actives, SYF Resources improved 1.5 sen to 45.5 sen, PAOS Holdings bagged two sen to nine sen, Kanger eased half-a-sen to 5.5 sen, Lambo reduced one sen to 11.5 sen, while KNM was flat at 26.5 sen.
On the index board, the FBM Emas Index fell 31.73 points to 11,633.57, the FBMT 100 Index was 34.73 points lower at 11,329.72, and the FBM Emas Syariah Index slipped 27.34 points to 12,760.99.
The FBM 70 shaved 44.90 points to 15,195.62, while the FBM ACE added 6.73 points to 7,258.81.
Sector-wise, the Plantation Index dropped 51.10 points to 6,677.45 and the Financial Services Index declined 51.51 points to 15,474.93, while the Industrial Products and Services Index inched up 0.29 of-a-point to 202.90. – Bernama, September 9, 2021
