• Brent, WTI and gold close higher amid geopolitical tensions in Europe

Global Highlights

US dollar – The greenback closed at 96.08, where the currency remained firm amid news reports that the Russians have encroached into the Ukrainian territory.

US equities – The US equity turned into a sea of red as investors reacted to the Russia-Ukraine development. The Dow Jones slipped 1.4% to 33,597, S&P 500 1.0% to 4,305, and the Nasdaq 1.2% to 13,382.

Euro – The euro slightly gained 0.04% to 1.133. The currency stayed firm despite the Russia-Ukraine conflict’s escalation. On a plus note, European stock indices, including the Euro Stoxx 50, have been on a declining trend for the past couple of days.

British pound – The pound inched up 0.04% to trade at 1.359. Two major news dominated in the UK, including the announcement on the UK’s position regarding the conflict in Ukraine. Plus, Prime Minister Boris Johnson had said that he will end Covid-19 restrictions, including mandatory selfisolation in his “living with Covid” plan.

Japanese yen – The yen slipped 0.01% to trade around 115.07. The Japanese government said that it would join the US and other G7 economies imposing sanctions on Russia.

Chinese yuan – The yuan shed 0.14% to 6.326. Finance Minister Liu Kun said that China will unveil bigger tax and fee cuts this year and step up payments to local governments to offset their hit in revenues, in an effort to support a slowing economy.

Korean won – The won was up 0.13% to 1,192.54.

Australian dollar – The Aussie dollar rose 0.10% to 0.723.

Commodities Highlights

Crude Oil – Oil was traded higher on the back of escalating geopolitical tensions between Russia and the Western Bloc. Brent rose 1.52% to US$95.84 per barrel, while WTI was higher 1.47% at US$92.4 per barrel.

Gold – The market continued to seek a safe haven as gold marginally gained 0.04% to US$1,899/oz.

Malaysia Highlights

Malaysian ringgit – The ringgit edged up 0.13% to 4.185.

KLSE – The FBM KLCI was down 0.36% to 1,577 in the second day of losses after reaching the 1,600 threshold last week. Both local retailers and foreign investors were net buyers with RM126.31mil and RM128.8mil, respectively, offset by net selling from local institutions at RM255.1mil.

Fixed Income – In the local bond market, MGS yields were mixed. The 3-year was down 2.3bps to 2.735% and the 5-year -0.5bp to 3.294%. Longer tenors were higher; the 7-year up 0.2 bps to 3.583, and 10-year 0.1 bps to 3.663%.

Rates – The IRS yields were mixed as well as the 3Y slid 2.0bps to 2.900%, the 5Y down 2.5bps to 3.150%, (7Y) remained at 3.350%, and 10Y slipped 0.5bps to 3.550%. KLIBOR remained at 1.970%.

Against major currencies – The ringgit closed higher vs. the AUD, JPY, SGD, THB and IDR, but was lower against the EUR, GBP, CNY, PHP, and VND.

Ringgit Outlook for the Day

We expect the MYR to trade between our support level of 4.1690 and 4.1730 while our resistance is pinned at 4.1850 and 4.1890.

Source: AmInvest Research - 23 Feb 2022