KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 4 (Bernama) -- Bursa Malaysia erased early gains to end lower today as profit-taking emerged following recent gains. At 5 pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) eased 5.44 points, or 0.31 per cent, to 1,742.82 from yesterday’s close of 1,748.26. The market bellwether opened 1.84 points lower at 1,746.42, and subsequently hit an intraday high of 1,751.22 in early trade before slipping to its day’s low of 1,740.49 during the mid-afternoon session. In the broader market, losers outpaced gainers 602 to 462, with 558 counters unchanged, 1,013 counters untraded and six suspended. Turnover declined to 2.59 billion shares valued at RM2.86 billion from yesterday's 3.25 billion shares valued at RM3.34 billion.
Summary UBS expects the ringgit to strengthen towards 3.80 against the US dollar by December , potentially reaching its strongest level in more than a decade. The outlook is supported by strong capital inflows, AI-driven investments, a resilient trade surplus, and narrowing US–Malaysia interest rate differentials . Key Points Ringgit target: 3.80 per US dollar by December , last seen in 2015 Best-performing major Asian currency in early 2026 , up over 3% YTD More than 10% gain in 2025 , extending its recovery trend What’s Driving the Ringgit Higher Sustained foreign inflows from multi-year investments into data centres and the digital economy Global tech and AI demand expected to remain strong into 2026, supporting Malaysia’s trade surplus Narrowing interest rate gap as the US is expected to cut rates , while Bank Negara Malaysia is likely to stay on hold This environment encourages USD-to-ringgit conversions by corporate...