Malaysia Highlights: Ringgit Strengthened

The ringgit appreciated 0.24%, marking the third day of a winning streak, to 4.191. It was traded within the range of 4.201 and 4.1897 yesterday.

The FBM KLCI closed in the green as it surged 0.91% to 1,564 amid mixed regional performances, led by finance stocks. Detailed transactions revealed that both local institutions and retailers were net sellers with RM167.6mil and RM3.9mil positions, respectively, offset by foreign investors.

The benchmark yields in local bond market were sent lower; 3-years -2.5bps to 2.825%, 5-years -1.5bps to 3.255%, 7-years – 2.0bps to 3.460%, 10-years -3.0bps to 3.660%.

The IRS yield curve shifted lower with the (3Y) -4.0bps to 2.805, (5Y) -5.5bps to 3.065%, (7Y) -3.5bps to 3.265%, and (10Y) – 4.0bps to 3.490%.

Against major currencies, the ringgit shone as it strengthened vs. the EUR by 0.18% to 4.749, GBP by 0.05% to 5.708, AUD by 0.30% to 3.011, JPY by 0.25% to 3.635, and CNY by 0.20% to 1.521. Regionally, the ringgit was mixed against its peers as it strengthened vs. the SGD by 0.05% to 3.101, IDR by 0.27% to 3,413, and VND by 0.32% to 5,418, but weakened vs. the THB by 0.71% to 7.954 and PHP by 0.09% to 12.199.

MYR Outlook For The Day

“We expect the MYR to trade between our support level of 4.1800 and 4.1825 while our resistance is pinned at 4.2030 and 4.2060,” says AmBank Research.