New Malaysian PM ushers in best trading week in 15 months
06:36, 27 August 2021
Malaysia’s benchmark FTSE Malaysia KLCI Index was on track on Friday for its best weekly performance in nearly 15 months on renewed investor optimism during Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob’s first week in office.
On Friday, the country’s benchmark gained for a seventh consecutive session. The benchmark is up over 7% from its 2021 low, which was reached in early August.
Malaysia’s vaccination rate has been robust, giving investors hope, even as daily new infections in the nation hover near record highs. According to Reuters, nearly half of Malaysia's population is fully vaccinated, including 60.2% of all adults.
Domestic vaccination push
“Malaysia’s domestic vaccination push is likely to provide impetus to restart and safely reopen its economy. Except for Singapore, we estimate that Malaysia is closest in ASEAN to possibly exceed an 80% full vaccination rate for its entire population by October 2021,” DBS said in an analyst note.
The Malaysian ringgit has also enjoyed a mini-revival this week, gaining 1.8% against the dollar over the period.
The recent appointment of the new prime minister has quelled investor uncertainty about the country’s political future. This followed months of public anger against former PM Muhyiddin Yassin, sparked by his inability to contain the spread of COVID-19 and the subsequent economic downturn.
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FTSE Malaysia KLCI hits a near-three-month high
The FTSE Malaysia KLCI Index rose 0.5% on Friday to hit a near-three-month high. This was supported by a strong performance in recent sessions by the nation’s biggest companies, including Malayan Banking and Petronas Chemicals Group.
Kuala Lumpur-listed shares of healthcare-focused investment holding company IHH Healthcare surged by over 8% on Friday after swinging to a quarterly profit of USD115.3m and reporting a 67% year-on-year jump in quarterly revenue.
“We remain upbeat on Asia ex-Japan equities overall, with a preference for India given its vibrant recovery and for Malaysia in view of its surging vaccination rate and cheap valuation,” UBS Global Wealth Management Chief Investment Office said in a note.
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Read more : IHH Healthcare shares jump as company books profit turnaround
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