Malaysia stock market opens strong after BN victory

The stock market experienced one of its strongest opening in many years, after the ruling coalition Barisan Nasional extended its 56-year rule.

The benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia Kuala Lumpur Composite Index (FBMKLCI) rose by more than 130 points or close to 8 per cent during early trade. It hits the historical high of 1,826.22 points during the first few minutes of trading.

Blue chips counters, government-linked stocks were the biggest winners.

Among the gainers include: Petronas Gas (up RM3.18 to RM22.70, 16.05 per cent gain); Petronas Dagangan Bhd (up RM1.62 to RM24.83, 6.9 per cent gain); CIMB (up 64 sen to RM8.25, 8 per cent gain); UEM Land (up 28 sen to RM2.92, 10.6 per cent gain); Maybank (up 31 sen to RM9.90, 7 per cent gain); Tebrau Teguh (up 9 sen to RM1.33, 7.26 per cent gain) and more.

While the stock market is experiencing one of its strongest opening in history, the Malaysian ringgit rose 1.4 per cent to 2.9920 per US dollar, its strongest since March 2, 2012.

The governing coalition, which saw a strong challenge by the opposition alliance, won the 13th General Election with 133 parliamentary seats.

Opposition party DAP was the biggest winner among the Pakatan Rakyat alliance with a 38 seat victory, followed by PKR with 30 seats and PAS with 21 seats.

The general election, which was described as "the mother of all election", also saw BN took control of Kedah -- a state which Pakatan Rakyat secured during the 12th General Election.