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...
The FBM KLCI index lost 20.79 points or 1.23% on Wednesday. The Finance Index fell 1.86% to 14056.35 points, the Properties Index dropped 0.94% to 1209.09 points and the Plantation Index down 1.39% to 7614.28 points. The market traded within a range of 16.80 points between an intra-day high of 1674.68 and a low of 1657.88 during the session.
The index closed at 1,665.320.
Across Bursa Malaysia, decliners outweighed gainers by 710 against 279, while 254 counters remained unchanged.
The top losing counter was British American Tobacco (M) Bhd, while gainers were led by Petronas Dagangan Bhd.
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| British American Tobacco (M) Bhd is the biggest decliner for the day |
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| Petronas Dagangan Bhd led the gainers with an increase of 94 cents |
Hibiscus Petroleum Bhd was the most actively traded counter today, with some 156.44 million shares done.
The FBM KLCI has dropped as investors concern over China's economic growth. Market breadth was negative amid absence of fresh catalyst. The decline of the crude oil also impacted the Bursa Malaysia.
Reuters reported that Asian stock markets pulled back slightly on Wednesday after a mixed batch of Chinese data showed that growth in the world's second-biggest economy was still in low gear.
It also noted that oil prices resumed their decline on news that US crude stocks jumped last week.
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