Market sentiment remained fixated on the conflict in Iran and the elevated global energy crisis, says analyst.
Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist Afzanizam Rashid said market sentiment remained guarded, with investors highly alert to developments in the West Asia conflict while awaiting a series of key data releases, including the US ISM Index for the manufacturing and services sectors later this week.
“It will be interesting to see how business sentiment fares in March after enduring high fuel prices,” he added.
He noted that Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) has released its latest macroeconomic forecast, with the country’s gross domestic product growth at between 4% and 5% this year.
“This was slightly higher compared to the 4% to 4.5% when Budget 2026 was tabled in October last year.
“In that sense, BNM sees the Malaysian economy as in a better position to withstand the economic challenges brought on by the war in Iran,” Afzanizam added.
At 6pm, the local currency fell to 4.0475/4.0520 against the greenback from yesterday’s close of 4.0280/4.0350.
At the close, the ringgit was traded lower against a basket of major currencies.
It weakened against the British pound to 5.3484/5.3543 from 5.3311/5.3403 at yesterday’s close, fell versus the Japanese yen to 2.5351/2.5381 compared with 2.5237/2.5282 previously and slipped vis-à-vis the euro to 4.6417/4.6468 from 4.6294/4.6374.
The local currency also traded lower or flat against Asean currencies.
It dropped versus the Singapore dollar to 3.1361/3.1399 from 3.1227/3.1284 at yesterday’s close, weakened versus the Indonesian rupiah to 237.5/237.8 from 236.9/237.4 and eased against the Philippine peso to 6.66/6.67 from 6.63/6.65. - FMT
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