The ringgit extended its gains on Wednesday, opening higher against the US dollar, supported by positive sentiment following the success of the 47th ASEAN Summit and Related Summits in Kuala Lumpur.
At 10am, the ringgit was at 4.1880, up 0.17% against the US dollar since it opened early Wednesday in Asian trading.
Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd Chief Economist Dr Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid said the ASEAN Summit had strengthened regional stability and integration, helping to bolster market confidence.
Meanwhile, he said the US dollar index eased 0.12 per cent to 98.667 points as the US Fed was widely expected to deliver a 25 basis point rate cut when the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) concludes its meeting tonight.
He added that confidence in a potential trade deal between the United States and China had also boosted market sentiment.
Accordingly, the ringgit is expected to remain strong, with the ringgit-dollar likely to trade between RM4.19 and RM4.20 today.
At the opening, the ringgit traded higher against most major currencies.
It rose against the British pound to 5.5591/5850 from 5.5845/5911 at Tuesday's close, rose against the euro to 4.8804/9031 from 4.8884/8942, and rose against the Japanese yen to 2.7591/7722 from 2.7605/7640.
The local note also strengthened against most ASEAN currencies.
It rose against the Singapore dollar to 3.2372/2525 from 3.2460/2502 at Tuesday's close, rose against the Indonesian rupiah to 252.0/253.3 from 252.4/252.9, and was marginally higher against the Philippine peso at 7.08/7.092 from 7.08/7.092
However, the ringgit weakened against the Thai baht to 12.9420/13.0111 from 12.9214/9424 previously.
