Bursa extends gains but ringgit falters again

Bursa extends gains but ringgit falters again

Overnight rally on Wall Street gives stock market a boost but positive economic data in the US leaves the local currency trailing the greenback.

KUALA LUMPUR:
The stock market and the ringgit began the day in contrasting style.

Bursa Malaysia extended its gains from the past few days but the ringgit continued to languish in negative territory.

The better performance on Wall Street overnight that led to robust gains on Nasdaq helped Bursa to start the day on a positive note.

The FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) opened trading at 1,395.52 points, just slightly less than a point better than yesterday’s close of 1,394.67.

Six minutes later, it was already 1.29 points up, at 1,395.96 points.

However, the mood was not as positive on the broader market. There were 130 losers compared with only 85 gainers.

On the other hand, good news for the US dollar meant bad news for the ringgit.

Encouraging economic data coming out of the US gave the US dollar a boost, leaving the ringgit to open at 4.6630/4.6670 versus the greenback down from yesterday’s close of 4.6525/4.6580.

Stay current - Follow FMT on WhatsApp, Google news and Telegram

Subscribe to our newsletter and get news delivered to your mailbox.