Oil prices settled higher on Thursday, recovering from the previous day's drop, on news that the US and China agreed to more trade talks following a phone call between US President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping.

The ringgit continues to strengthen against the US dollar on Friday, as the United States (US) economic data points to further weakening amid concerns over tariffs and fiscal policies, an analyst said.

Bursa Malaysia opened lower today, tracking the overnight losses on Wall Street, with sentiment affected by the ongoing spat between US President Donald Trump and businessman Elon Musk.

Oil prices edged lower in early Asian trade on Wednesday, weighed down by a loosening supply-demand balance following increasing OPEC+ output.

PublicInvest has downgraded the Malaysian glove sector to “neutral” from “overweight”, citing a subdued near-term outlook.

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The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index closed 0.8 per cent higher.

Spot gold rose 0.6 per cent at US$3,370.67 an ounce as of 0209 GMT. US gold futures were up 0.5 per cent to US$3,394.90.