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...
KUALA LUMPUR (March 30): The FBM KLCI closed up 7.11 points or 0.4% on what appeared to be institutional investors' window-dressing activities at the end of 2018’s first quarter.
At 5pm today, the KLCI closed at 1,863.46. Across Bursa Malaysia, 1.82 billion shares were traded for RM1.9 billion.
“Most government-linked companies seem to be the ones being traded higher, which could be due to window dressing,” Hong Leong Investment Bank Bhd head of retail research Loui Low told theedgemarkets.com.
He said sentiment across Bursa Malaysia seemed subdued as the total volume of shares traded remained below the two billion mark. Yesterday's share trade volume was about 1.88 billion shares.
Today, Bursa Malaysia top gainers included KLCI-linked stocks Nestle (M) Bhd and Petronas Dagangan Bhd. The most-actively traded stocks included Sapura Energy Bhd, PUC Bhd and SKH Consortium Bhd.
Across Asia, Japan's Nikkei 225 rose 1.4% while South Korea's Kospi climbed 0.39%. Hong Kong markets were closed for the Good Friday holiday today (March 30) and will remain closed on Monday (April 2) for the Easter Monday break.
In Japan today, stocks finished a weak first quarter on a positive note, with index heavyweight stocks rising and technology firms jumping in sympathy with a rebound in their US counterparts, Reuters reported.
Reuters added that Wall Street surged on Thursday, bringing an upbeat end to a tumultuous, holiday-shortened week as technology stocks rebounded, but the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average posted their biggest quarterly declines in more than two years. US markets will be closed on Friday (March 30) for Good Friday.
Source: The Edge
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