KUALA LUMPUR — Malaysia's ringgit extended gains and touched a three-month high on Friday (Nov 25), following Mr Anwar Ibrahim's appointment as Prime Minister, while focus shifted to his cabinet appointments and retabling of the budget for next year.

The ringgit, which was up for the third straight session, climbed 0.6 per cent against the US dollar to its highest level in over three months.

"MYR is playing catch-up to gains... as USD weakness extended and election uncertainties in Malaysia dissipate," analysts at OCBC said in a note.

Stocks in Kuala Lumpur slipped 1.1 per cent, after soaring more than 4 per cent in the previous session.

Mr Anwar's appointment ended five days of post-election crisis, but could usher in further instability with his rival, former prime minister Muhyiddin Yassin, challenging him to prove his majority in parliament.

Mr Anwar said his primary focus would be on the cost of living. He has yet to announce any cabinet appointments for his coalition government and has said he will table the budget next month or so.

"Focus will now shift to cabinet formation, in particular who is made the Finance Minister, the budget itself as well as the confidence vote. Uncertainties on this front could slow MYR's appreciation going forward," the OCBC note added.

Meanwhile, data showed that Malaysia's consumer price index rose 4 per cent in October from a year earlier, slightly faster than the forecast.

"Going forward, with core inflation gaining momentum as the economy remains on a solid recovery path... we continue to expect BNM (Bank Negara Malaysia) to hike policy rates at a 25-basis point/meeting pace until mid-2023," analysts at Goldman Sachs wrote.

Other regional currencies and equities were mixed as markets continued to digest signals from the US Federal Reserve that hinted at a milder rate of policy tightening ahead.

The Singapore dollar added 0.3 per cent, while the Philippine peso lost 0.3 per cent.

The Thai baht added 0.3 per cent and was set to post its fifth consecutive weekly gain.

Investors will be looking for the Bank of Thailand's rate decision on Nov 30. Data out on Monday showed that the country's economy grew at its fastest pace in over a year in the third quarter, reinforcing expectations of a modest 25bp hike.

However, stocks in Jakarta and Bangkok lost about 0.5 per cent and 0.3 per cent, respectively, as risk sentiment remained fragile after China reported another record high of daily Covid-19 infections. REUTERS