Kuala lumpur: The ringgit opened lower against the US dollar on Thursday as the greenback strengthened following a hawkish outcome from the United States (US) Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting overnight. At 8 am, the local currency eased to 4.0855/0910 against the greenback from Tuesday's close of 4.0835/0880. According to BERNAMA News Agency, the US Federal Reserve (Fed) raised its benchmark interest rate by 25 basis points to a target range of 3.75 percent to 4.00 percent, which it had previously forecast at 3.50 percent to 3.75 percent. This marks its first rate hike since 2023. Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist Dr. Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid noted that the highly anticipated FOMC decision was met with a high degree of hawkishness, signaling that the Fed remains committed to tightening monetary policy to achieve price stability. Dr. Mohd Afzanizam highlighted that the Fed chair indicated during his press conference that the monetary policy stance is expected to be more restrictive an d emphasized their seriousness about meeting one of its dual mandates, namely price stability. The quarterly projection by the Fed staff also indicated there will be another quarter-point rate hike this year. The move has contributed to driving the US dollar higher, with the US dollar index (DXY) hovering at 100.322 points. Additionally, the two- and ten-year US Treasury yields rose seven and two basis points to 4.74 percent and 5.02 percent, respectively. On this note, Mohd Afzanizam mentioned that the ringgit is expected to trade lower against the US dollar today, possibly around 4.08 to 4.10. At the opening, the ringgit was higher against a basket of major currencies. It improved against the euro to 4.6853/6916 from Tuesday's close of 4.7111/7163, rose against the yen to 2.6182/6219 from 2.6366/6396, and inched up against the British pound to 5.4672/4746 from 5.5037/5098. The ringgit traded mixed against its ASEAN peers. It leapt against the Singapore dollar to 3.1965/2013 from 3.2093/2131 previously, a nd increased against the Thai baht to 12.2265/2485 from 12.2620/2800 at Tuesday's close. However, the local note was marginally lower against the Indonesian rupiah at 230.8/231.2 from 230.7/231.1 and edged down vis-a-vis the Philippine peso to 6.51/6.52 from 6.50/6.51 previously.