Ringgit strengthens, Bursa hits new high

April has been buoyant as the ringgit enjoyed its best
month since late last year, while the local bourse closed at a new high
yesterday ahead of the Workers’ Day holiday.

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The ringgit rallied the most among Asia’s 11 most-traded currencies vis-a-vis the US dollar since last September.

The
local currency, which weakened 1.2 per cent against the greenback in
the first quarter, strengthened by about 1.5 per cent throughout last
month. This is despite its lower close yesterday at 3.0410 against the
greenback compared with Monday’s 3.0315.

The ringgit has benefited since Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak dissolved Parliament on April 3, removing uncertainty over
the
elections, Bloomberg quoted Hong Leong Bank Bhd senior manager for
fixed-income and economic research Choong Yin Pheng as saying yesterday.

Malaysia will hold its general election on May 5.






The search for higher yields on benchmark five-year government bonds
has also benefited the ringgit, Choong said, adding that the yields
touched an eight-month low of 3.16 per cent
on April 15.

Over
at the Bursa Malaysia, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI)
which tracks the top 30 stocks closed at an all-time high of 1,717.65.

The
9.68-point gain over Monday’s close of 1,707.97 points was supported by
the funds’ buying of key stocks such as British American Tobacco (M)
Bhd (BAT) and UMW Holdings Bhd, dealers said.

The index also hit a record intraday high of 1,718.10 to erase the previous high of 1,718.08 points recorded last Friday.

JF Apex Securities Bhd said Bursa Malaysia had reacted positively to the positive run in the US and European stock markets.

Heavy
interest was seen in large capitalised stocks with seven index
component counters among the most actively traded, resulting in a 61.5
per cent surge in total turnover against
Monday.

Actively traded stocks included SapuraKencana Petroleum, Malayan Banking and Tenaga Nasional.

Turnover was 811.70 million shares worth RM2.26 billion, with 254 gainers, 443 losers and 305 counters unchanged.

BAT was the top gainer, rising 78 sen to RM63.32, Kuala Lumpur Kepong Bhd added 42 sen to RM21.56 while UMW edged up 36 sen
to RM14.30, and RHB Capital Bhd gained 12 sen to RM8.48.