The Ringgit jumped for the second day in a row by as much as 0.9% against the dollar after the appointment of Anwar Ibrahim as Malaysia's new prime minister, making it the best performing currency in Asia, according to a Bloomberg report. The Malaysian currency appreciated by 1.8% on Thursday, according to the report.
The stock benchmark index fell by a bit over 1.3% on profit-taking after the market added $19 billion in value on Thursday, according to the report.
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What happened to Anwar's appointment, which removed uncertainty in the market, and removed concerns of strong influence by the conservative Parti Islam Se-Malaysia, known as PAS, the biggest party in the rival Perikatan Nasional bloc, according to the report.
Expert Take: The report stated that analysts believe that the political risk premium on Malaysian equities remains because the unity government model is untested territory and Anwar still needs to test lawmakers support for his leadership with a confidence vote on December 19.
Vincent Khoo, head of research at UOB Kay Hian, wrote in a note: Until the country attains reasonable political stability, the KLCI index would likely command a sub-optimal valuation, according to the report.
In our view, Malaysia s economy is doing well, balancing political challenges with integration opportunities into tech-related supply chains, according to Belinda Boa, chief investment officer of emerging markets equities at BlackRock Inc. Read Next: Bill Ackman Reveals Short Position Against Hong Kong Dollar: Only Matter Of Time Before Peg Breaks''