The Bank of Russia unexpectedly maintained its key interest rate at a record-high 21% , defying analysts’ expectations of another significant hike as inflation remains stubbornly elevated. The decision marks a shift toward a more measured approach in balancing economic growth and price stability. Key Details Inflation Concerns: Annual inflation climbed to 8.9% in November, well above the central bank’s 4% target , with inflation expectations reaching 13.9% in December. Policy Rationale: The central bank cited the significant tightening of monetary conditions after October’s 200-basis point hike as sufficient to resume disinflationary processes. Governor Elvira Nabiullina emphasized avoiding both economic overheating and severe slowdowns. Economic Overheating: Elevated government spending on the war in Ukraine and social programs, coupled with labor shortages and rising wages, have fueled strong domestic demand, exacerbating price pressures...
As crude oil slids further down to a new low since May 2009, the FBM KLCI follow suits with a drop of 1.15%.
As at time of writing of this post, the Brent crude oil was at US$51.57 a barrel while US crude oil was at US$48.81.
The FBM KLCI closed at 1,716.580 pts, a drop of 20.04 pts or 1.15%. With the oil price slump continued, analysts are not being too optimistic. TA Research chartist Stephen Soo told theedgemarkets.com that he did not see the market rebounding over the immediate term, and that it was possible the market could test new lows this year.
For the Top 10 Active, Top 10 Gainers and Top 10 Losers, you may find as below:
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| Iris leads the Top active counter for the day |
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| United Plantation Bhd, DKSH Bhd, Ibraco Bhd and Muda Holdings Bhd are among the top 10 gainers today |
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| The decliners were lead by British American Tobacco (BAT), Syarikat Takaful Malaysia Bhd |
Regionally, market is also on a downtrend as oil price slump continued to present a negative and volatile environment....with Hong Kong's Hang Seng slipped 0.99%, Japan's Nikkei 225 was down 3.02%, while the Singapore's Straits Times Index shed 1.39%.
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