KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 5): Malaysian shares and the ringgit make today take their cue from higher US bond yields amid US interest rate hike expectation. 

Higher US bond yields and US interest rate hike sentiment led to Wall Street share losses and a stronger US dollar on Friday. Today, these factors may offer clues on Asian share-trade dynamics. 
  
On Friday, Malaysia's FBM KLCI rose 1.9 points to close at 1,870.48 points. The ringgit was traded at 3.8855 against the US dollar.

In the US, Reuters reported that Wall Street extended losses on Friday after a round of weak earnings and on the back of robust payrolls data that sent bond yields higher, vexing all three major US stock indexes. The better-than-expected January employment report showed a surge in job growth and the largest wage gain in more than 8-1/2 years, fueling expectations that rising inflation will prompt the Federal Reserve to hike interest rates more aggressively this year.

"It's all about the bond market, the bond market is calling the tune for stocks and has been all week. We've seen a very large back-up in yields and that's giving investors reasons to sell equities. The bond market sold off and the expectation is three maybe four rate hikes this year in light of the jobs report," said Paul Nolte, portfolio manager at Kingsview Asset Management in Chicago.