KUALA LUMPUR, NOVEMBER 21 – The ringgit fell further versus the US dollar this morning, extending last week’s decline, as Malaysia’s first-ever hung parliament result from the 15th General Election (GE15) conducted last Saturday undermined market confidence, according to an expert.
The local currency fell 290 basis points (bps) to 4.5780/5880 versus the US dollar at 9 a.m., from a close of 4.5490/5565 on Thursday. Last Friday, the market was closed to allow citizens to vote in GE15.
However, SPI Asset Management Managing Director, Stephen Innes believes that the market will accept the outcome of the general election because a hung parliament was predicted.
“In such a context, expect more political horse-trading and compromise, which might offer checks and balances.”
“However, from the market’s standpoint, the GE15 results may fail to alleviate worries about the recent period of political uncertainty that has hung over Malaysian capital markets,” he told Bernama.
The country’s most heated general election, GE15, concluded in a hung parliament, with no party winning a clear majority to establish a new federal administration.
Read more : In the run-up to GE15, foreign investors sell a net RM272 million in Bursa shares
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