Bursa Malaysia Records Strongest One-Day Gain Since 2020 Following PM Appointment

Alex Cheong Pui Yin

25th November 2022 - 2 min read

Malaysia’s stock market recorded its strongest one-day gain in more than two years yesterday, riding on the country’s optimism following Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s appointment as the new Prime Minister.

Bursa Malaysia’s benchmark, FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) rallied to a near three-month high of 1,501.88 at closing yesterday, seeing a 4.04% increase (58.38 points higher) from the day before. Malaysia has not seen a jump this large since March 2020, when the benchmark leapt by 6.85%.

To note, the index had surged by more than 28 points – equivalent to 2% higher – to 1,471 during yesterday’s morning trading session itself, even before news of Datuk Seri Anwar’s appointment broke. It continued to rally in the afternoon trading session, and subsequently skyrocketed with the confirmation of the news.

Winners yesterday included telcos Axiata Group Bhd and Maxis Bhd. Axiata saw a 12.8% increase (36 sen) to RM3.18, while Maxis soared 12.3% (45 sen) to RM4.11. Similarly, gaming and brewery stocks also recovered from its tumble earlier this week, caused by investors’ anxiety on the prospects of sin sectors should Malaysia see a conservative government come to power following the uncertain results of the recent general election (GE15).

During closing yesterday, Heineken Malaysia Bhd surged 6.7% (RM1.56) to RM24.88, while Carlsberg Brewery Malaysia Bhd gained 4.3% (94 sen) to RM22.94. As for gaming stocks, Magnum Bhd was up 9.3% (12 sen) at RM1.41, whereas Sports Toto gained 5.6% (9 sen) to RM1.70. Genting Malaysia Bhd also climbed 7.9% (20 sen) to RM2.72, and its parent company, Genting Bhd, increased 6.4% (27 sen) to RM4.48.

Aside from the stock market, Malaysia’s currency also saw a strong rebound against the US dollar yesterday, shooting up 1.74% to 4.4955 from Wednesday’s close of 4.5750. Moreover, it gained 1.57% against the British pound, 1.09% against the Singapore dollar, and 0.67% against the euro.

Malaysia had faced almost a week of political uncertainty after GE15 – which was held last weekend, on 19 November – failed to produce a clear winner that could form Malaysia’s new government. Unsurprisingly, this led to a political impasse, which ultimately required intervention from the Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah. The King eventually named Datuk Seri Anwar as Malaysia’s 10^th Prime Minister, who was sworn in at 5pm yesterday.

(Sources: The Edge Markets, New Straits Times)

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Alex Cheong Pui Yin

Previously covered recruitment-related stories and had a short stint as a copywriter for the property industry. She subsequently developed an interest in investment and robo-advisors.

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