Kuala lumpur: The ringgit opened mixed against regional peers and was mostly firmer against major currencies today, amid cautious market sentiment following stronger-than-expected United States jobs data. At 8 am, however, the local unit slipped to 3.9755/9855 against the greenback from Tuesday's close of 3.9745/9785.

According to BERNAMA News Agency, Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid noted that the US Dollar Index (DXY) appears to be gaining strength. The index rose by 0.14 percent to 99.327 points following higher-than-expected labour market data. He highlighted that the weekly automatic data processing (ADP) employment change increased to 42,250 from the previous 33,000.

Mohd Afzanizam explained that the ongoing stalemate in US-Iran negotiations and concerns over rising global inflation are expected to keep the US dollar well-supported. "On that note, expect the ringgit's sideways trend to persist today," he told Bernama.

At the opening, the ringgit showed a varied performance against a basket of major currencies. The local note appreciated against the British pound to 5.3248/3382 from 5.3282/3336 at Tuesday's close and strengthened against the euro to 4.6140/6256 from 4.6180/6226 previously. However, it eased against the Japanese yen to 2.4995/5060 from 2.4980/5006.

In terms of regional currencies, the ringgit appreciated against the Thai baht to 12.1541/1918 from 12.1719/1898 and strengthened against the Singapore dollar to 3.1003/1083 from 3.1022/1055 previously. Conversely, the local currency slipped against the Indonesian rupiah to 224.5/225.2 from 224.4/224.8 previously and depreciated against the Philippine peso to 6.44/6.46 from 6.43/6.45 previously.