The Malaysian ringgit and the main Kuala Lumpur stock index soared Thursday amid easing political turmoil. Malaysia’s king appointed long-time opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim as prime minister Thursday as the country’s 10th prime minister. The FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI Index jumped just over 4 per cent to close at 1,501.88 points in its strongest single day increase since March 2020. Malaysian ringgit strengthened by almost 2% to above $4.5 on Thursday, the sharpest rise since March 2016 and pushing the currency to levels not seen in nearly three months amid easing political turmoil. Malaysia’s 10-year benchmark yield fell 0.1 basis point to 4.322%.
Top gainers on the FTSE Bursa Malaysia Kl Index include Axiata Group Bhd and Top Glove Corporation Bhd
Anwar Ibrahim has stated that he wants to reduce living costs while strengthening the country’s small businesses. The ringgit is on track for a third consecutive weekly gain.
“After this, we will look for long-term, credible economic policy, which Anwar and his team will provide. His immediate challenge is to make a credible budget focused on protecting growth for next year and keeping inflation low,” Malaysia University of Science and Technology professor and economist Dr Geoffrey Williams said.
Mr Anwar was deputy prime minister and finance minister at the time of the Asian financial crisis in 1997 and 1998 after Thailand unpegged the baht from the United States dollar. Anwar won praise for his handling of the crisis. However, he fell out with then-Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad who had him arrested and later jailed over alleged sodomy and corruption.
Source: Reuters
From The TradersCommunity Research Desk