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 (July 20): The FBM KLCI closed 4.57 points or 0.26% lower on profit taking after nine straight days of gains. At 5pm today, the KLCI settled at 1,754.67 points.
Areca Capital Sdn Bhd chief executive officer Danny Wong Teck Meng told theedgemarkets.com that investors took profit on telecommunication stocks.
"Today’s market was affected by the telcos especially Telekom Malaysia Bhd (TM) and Digi.Com Bhd," Wong said.
TM was the biggest decliner in percentage terms among the 30 KLCI stocks followed by Digi.Com and Axiata Group Bhd. TM closed 2.31% lower at RM3.81, Digi.Com fell 1.94% to RM4.54 while Axiata was 1.36% lower at RM4.34.
Across Bursa Malaysia, 2.89 billion shares worth RM2.53 billion were traded. The most-active counter was My E.G. Services Bhd (MyEG) with some 159 million shares transacted. MyEG rose 12 sen to close at RM1.24.
Asian stock markets took cue from China share gains. In China, the Shanghai Stock Exchange Composite rose 2.05% while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng was up 0.76%. Elsewhere, South Korea's Kospi climbed 0.3%.
Reuters reported that Asian shares pushed higher on Friday, clawing back earlier losses in volatile trade as China’s stocks recovered sharply and the yuan bounced from a one-year low with market participants suspecting state support for the currency.
Source: The Edge
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