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 (Aug 29): Malaysian stocks closed lower today, as investors continued to digest earnings from a slew of corporates and take profits ahead of the long weekend.
The benchmark FBM KLCI ended the day 6.26 points or 0.34% lower at 1,820.64, after trading between 1,815.74 and 1,822.43 throughout the day.
Market breadth was negative with 557 decliners compared with 346 gainers, while 418 counters traded unchanged. Leading movers were Hong Leong Financial Group Bhd, Kobay Technology Bhd and APM Automotive Holdings Bhd. Lagging movers were British American Tobacco (Malaysia) Bhd, Supermax Corp Bhd and Fraser & Neave Holdings Bhd.
Nevertheless, trading volume increased to 2.69 billion shares worth RM2.63 billion from yesterday's 2.57 billion shares worth RM2.29 billion.
Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd senior analyst Kenneth Leong said investors have already digested external optimism on international news such as the US-Mexico trade deal.
"Given this, we expect the index to pull back with a mild decline over the next one or two weeks before it normalises again," he told theedgemarkets.com, adding that as it is a short working week, investors may also resort to profit taking ahead of the long weekend.
"We expect the stock market tomorrow to be in the negative as well," he said.
Across the region, Reuters reported that Japan's Nikkei ended the day up 0.15% at 22,848.22. China's Shanghai Stock Exchange Composite closed down 0.31% to 2,769.30, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng closed higher by 0.23% to 28,416.44.
Source: The Edge
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