Malaysia's New Central Bank Governor Appointment Lifts Stock Market At Close

KUALA LUMPUR, June 22 (Bernama) -- The Malaysian stock market (Bursa Malaysia) closed higher on Friday as investors reacted positively to the appointment of the new central bank, Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) Governor, Nor Shamsiah Mohd Yunus. A dealer said with Nor Shamsiah’s vast experience in the industry, the appointment had boosted investors' confidence in the local market. At the close, the key FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) went up 1.83 points, or 0.11 per cent, to finish at 1,694.15 from Thursday's close of 1,692.32. The index opened 9.35 points lower at 1,682.97 and moved between 1,678.03 and 1,699.95 throughout the day. Market breadth was positive with gainers outpacing losers 480 to 350, while 417 counters were unchanged, 679 untraded and 31 others suspended. Volume, however, was lower at 2.0 billion shares worth RM2.22 billion from 2.12 billion shares worth RM2.67 billion yesterday. In a press conference earlier in the afternoon today, Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng announced the appointment of Nor Shamsiah as the new BNM Governor for a term of five years, effective from July 1, 2018 to June 30, 2023. Nor Shamsiah was the Deputy Governor of BNM from 2010 until 2016, and she recently served as Assistant Director of the Monetary and Capital Markets Division of the International Monetary Fund. Meanwhile, Hermana Capital Bhd Chief Executive Officer and Chief Investment Officer Dr Nazri Khan Adam Khan said the rebound since mid-afternoon today was owing to the recent correction which dragged the local bourse to slightly more than a 15-month low yesterday. "The market has experienced a correction of about 10.3 per cent since the beginning of the year to yesterday, which is also the largest correction seen since 2009," he told Bernama. Among heavyweights, Maybank edged up two sen to RM9.19 and Public Bank rose 30 sen to RM22.92, while Tenaga fell 14 sen to RM13.80, CIMB eased two sen to RM5.81 and Petronas Chemicals was unchanged at RM8.40. Of the actives, Sapura Energy improved 4.5 sen to 64.5 sen, PUC and Iris ticked up half-a-sen each to 19.5 sen and 15.5 sen respectively, while Barakah slipped half-a-sen to 15.5 sen and MyEG was flat at RM1.00. United Plantations led the top gainers list, bagging RM1.00 to RM27.30 while top loser was BAT which erased 96 sen to RM35.12. -- BERNAMA