Ringgit rises to 16-month high, Bursa fails to hold gains

The ringgit continues to strengthen against the US dollar, climbing to its highest in more than 16-month as crude oil prices posted their strongest opening to a year since 2014.It strengthened to 4.0195 against the US dollar, its best performance since August 2016. - MUHAMAD SHAHRIL ROSLI/The Star.(filepic)

PETALING JAYA: Not surprisingly Bursa Malaysia failed to hold on to its gains generated during “window dressing” activities last week as it fell 14.11 points on the first day of trading in the new year.

The stock market fell despite the ringgit rising to a 16-month high against the US dollar.