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 3): The FBM KLCI mirrored regional peers’ performance to close higher by 1.18% or 18.58 points, as bargain hunters made a comeback for rubber glove-linked stocks after their shares price slumped due to developments on the Covid-19 vaccines.
At 5pm, the benchmark index closed at 1,588.45 points after trading between 1,568.67 and 1,583.43. KLCI constituents Supermax Corp Bhd, Top Glove Corp Bhd and Hartalega were among blue-chips that powered the benchmark index today.
Supermax rose 55 sen or 13.38% to close at RM4.66, Hartalega added 44 sen or 4.68% at RM9.85, while Top Glove climbed 34 sen or 7.16% to RM5.09. They were among Bursa’s top gainers by value today.
Supermax, Hartalega and Top Glove are also members of Bursa's Health Care index, which rose the most in percentage terms among bourse gauges. The Health Care index settled up 80.12 points or 2.61% at 3,150.30.
Notable gainers also included Nestle (M) Bhd, Press Metal Aluminium Holdings Bhd and Petronas Chemical Group Bhd.
Remisier Jeffry Azizi Jaafar told theedgemarkets.com that share prices of the glove stocks rebounded today on bargain hunting activities, lifting the performance of the local bourse.
“Investors were bargain-hunting glove stocks after seeing heavy selldown on glove counters due to the Covid-19 vaccine news, which were halved from their recent peak in October last year,” he said.
The rebound in glove stocks today, however, is only temporary, he added.
Meanwhile, on the broader market, gainers led decliners by 631 to 559, while 416 counters closed unchanged. Trading volume was 10.78 billion shares, 17% lower compared to 12.89 billion shares traded yesterday. Meanwhile, total trade value stood at RM6.18 billion, compared to RM6.42 billion yesterday.
AMMB Holdings Bhd, which resumed trading today following a two-day suspension, settled down 36 sen or 11.39% at RM2.80 from its closing price of RM3.16 on last Friday (Feb 26), making it the second-most decliner by value on local bourse.
Earlier, the stock was transacted at between RM2.63 and RM2.91.
Other decliners included Carlsberg Brewery Malaysia Bhd, Rapid Synergy Bhd, Greatech Technology Bhd, Hap Seng Consolidated Bhd, Malaysian Pacific Industries Bhd and Unisem (M) Bhd.
Of the active counters, XOX was the most heavily traded stock, with 421.57 million shares traded. It closed down 0.5 sen to eight sen. Others including Parkson Holdings Bhd, Aimflex Bhd (previously known as I-Stone Group Bhd), EAH Holdings Bhd, Sealink International Bhd, Dagang NeXchange Bhd, Kanger International Bhd, Borneo Oil Bhd and Radiant Global Bhd.
The Business Times reported Asian markets rose on Wednesday, following previous day's losses, but investors remained on guard over a possible correction, as concerns about asset bubbles and a surge in inflation continued to play against progress in fighting the coronavirus.
Across Asia, Japan's Nikkei 225 rose 0.51%, while South Korea's Kospi gained 1.29%. In China, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng added 2.7%, while the Shanghai Stock Exchange Composite Index closed up 1.95%.
Source: The Edge
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