KUALA LUMPUR: The ringgit opened higher versus the US dollar today, supported by the positive sentiment surrounding the government’s announcement of a 10-year stimulus plan to restart the battered tourism sector.
At 9am, the ringgit improved to 4.0550/0650 against the US dollar, compared to last Thursday’s close of 4.0590/0620.
Axi chief global market strategist Stephen Innes said the government’s move to lift the interstate travel ban starting Dec 6 has boosted domestic tourism.
“This should bode well for travel-related names, including AirAsia Group, Malaysia Airports and Genting Malaysia, and attract equity market inflows,” he said in a note today.
“The next thing to watch for would be the reopening of travel borders. Let’s hope the vaccine roll-out goes smoothly and that the new variant of the virus does not plug up global travel.”
Meanwhile, the ringgit was traded mostly higher against other major currencies.
It improved against the Singapore dollar at 3.0514/0596 from 3.0537/0571 last Thursday and appreciated versus the British pound to 5.4876/5028 from 5.5186/5243.
The local note rose against the euro to 4.9435/9573 from 4.9479/9528, but eased against the Japanese yen to 3.9156/9256 from 3.9153/9193.
The local market was closed on Friday for Christmas.