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 (May 21): The FBM KLCI closed up 16.99 points or 1.18% today at 1,452.11, helped by share price gains in index-link rubber glove manufacturers on resurgent concerns about the Covid-19 pandemic, amid doubts about the development of a vaccine.
Among rubber glove manufacturers, Hartalega Holdings Bhd’s share price rose past RM10 for the first time today, as doubts about the development of a Covid-19 vaccine led to buying of healthcare-related shares on Bursa Malaysia.
“The glove companies have just gone exceedingly high and it is really beyond fundamentals. Unless the results are good, the push now [in share prices] is unsustainable,” Inter-Pacific Securities Sdn Bhd head of research Victor Wan told theedgemarkets.com.
Across Bursa, the exchange saw 7.15 billion shares, worth RM4.66 billion traded. Top gainers included KLCI stocks Petronas Gas Bhd, Top Glove Corp Bhd and Hartalega.
Top Glove and Hartalega are also constituents of Bursa’s healthcare index, which closed up 6.37% to become the top percentage gainer among Bursa indices.
Across Bursa, leading gainer Petronas Gas' share price closed up RM1.94 or 12.78% at RM17.12. Hartalega rose 58 sen or 6.16% to RM10, after the stock rose to its intraday high at RM10.16.
Petronas Gas' share price rose today after the company declared yesterday, a first interim single-tier dividend of 16 sen a share. The group also reported that its net profit dropped to RM368.12 million for the first quarter ended March 31, 2020 (1QFY20) from RM515.46 million a year earlier.
Today, the most active stock across Bursa was Velesto Energy Bhd, which registered a volume of some 277 million shares. The stock’s price closed down 0.5 sen or 2.94% at 16.5 sen.
Source: The Edge
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