Kuala lumpur: The ringgit opened little changed against the US dollar but showed strength against major currencies on Tuesday, amid cautious market sentiment ahead of US President Donald Trump's deadline on the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz. At 8 am, the local currency maintained its position at 4.0245/0360 against the greenback, nearly the same as Monday's closing rate of 4.0245/0320. According to BERNAMA News Agency, Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid noted that ongoing negotiations between the United States and Iran provided some hope for de-escalation, although the situation remains highly fluid. The US Dollar Index was observed to linger below the 100-point mark, around 99.981, and the US ISM services index decreased to 54.0 in March from 56.1 previously, with the employment sub-index dropping to 45.2 from 51.8. Afzanizam further mentioned that the ringgit had closed 0.10 percent higher at 4.0282 against the US dollar on Monday. Despite the uncertainty, he predic ted that the ringgit would likely trade within a narrow range of around 4.02 to 4.04 for the day. At the opening, the ringgit traded higher against a basket of major currencies. It strengthened against the Japanese yen to 2.5200/5274 from 2.5241/5290 at Monday's close, appreciated against the euro to 4.6443/6575 from 4.6483/6570, and rose against the British pound to 5.3252/3404 from 5.3305/3404. The local currency showed mixed results against ASEAN currencies. It rose against the Singapore dollar to 3.1317/1409 from 3.1346/1407 at Monday's close and edged up against the Thai baht to 12.3504/3933 from 12.3831/4138. It remained relatively unchanged against the Indonesian rupiah at 236.2/237.0 from 236.2/236.8 and was steady versus the Philippine peso at 6.70/6.73 compared to 6.70/6.72 previously.