KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia has rebounded sharply to its highest level in recent months following Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim's appointment as the new Prime Minister.
Bursa's benchmark FBM KLCI, which had ended the morning session more than 28 points or two per cent higher prior to news of the appointment, continued its surge to a new intra-day high immediately after trading resumed in the afternoon.
Following a meeting between the nation's rulers, the Palace announced just before 2pm today that Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri'ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah had consented to the appointment of Anwar as Malaysia's 10th Prime Minister.
Once trading for the afternoon session started, the key index almost immediately extended its gains by more than 10 points (and over 40 points overall) to 1,483.84.
At 3pm, the FBM KLCI climbed further to another 10 points to 1,488.10 points.
At lunch break, the benchmark jumped 28.94 points to 1,471.44 from 1,443.5. Overall, the index gained 44.6 points.
Analysts said sentiment haf been growing since morning as FBM KLCI increased by 13.55 points to 1,457.05 from 1,443.5 on Wednesday, thanks to renewed buying interest, especially in the banking stocks.
Anwar, the Tambun Member of Parliament and Pakatan Harapan chairman, will be sworn in at 5pm today.
Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd vice president of equity research Thong Pak Leng said the formation of a new government soon would definitely be positive for the economy.
"We expect the ringgit to strengthen a bit, but due to external factors such as continuous interest hikes in the US, we are still not sure yet," he told the New Straits Times today.
Putra Business School associate professor Dr Ahmed Razman Abdul Latiff said investors would appreciate the certainty and stability coming from this appointment and this would bode well with the economic prospect for this year and beyond.
"There is going to be an upward movement for Bursa Malaysia in the short run. Nevertheless, ringgit will probably still be subjected to external factors rather than because of this appointment.
"His (Anwar's) immediate economic policy is to speed up the presentation and approval of Budget 2023 by next month," he said.