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 (Sept 8): Bursa Malaysia ended at an intraday high, lifted by last-minute buying in selected heavyweight stocks, led by Press Metal Aluminium Holdings Bhd and MISC Bhd, dealers said.
Press Metal and MISC lifted the index by a combined 4.92 points.
At 5pm, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) rose 14.15 points to end at 1,597.63 from Tuesday’s close of 1,583.48.
After opening 1.76 points easier at 1,581.72, the FBM KLCI moved between 1,579.18 and 1,597.63 throughout the day.
However, market breadth remained negative with decliners trumping gainers 707 to 374, while 426 counters were unchanged, 730 untraded and 25 others suspended.
Turnover was higher at 5.91 billion units worth RM3.23 billion compared with 4.75 billion units worth RM2.89 billion on Tuesday.
A dealer said trading on Bursa Malaysia turned choppy at midday.
“The local bourse extended its losses at mid-afternoon, dragged down by selling in heavyweights led by the healthcare and utilities sectors, but last-minute stints helped the market to end on a firm note,” he told Bernama.
Meanwhile, Bank Islam chief economist Dr Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid commented that regional equities were mostly in the negative territory, in tandem with the rising risk aversion among investors.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index eased 0.12% to 26,320.93, Singapore’s Straits Times Index fell 1.27% to 3,069.16 and South Korea’s Kospi slipped 0.77% to 3,162.99, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 0.89% to 30,181.21.
“News on major investment banks on Wall Street turning more cautious on US equities may have weighed on market sentiments.
“The US Nonfarm Payroll (NFP) in August came in lower at 235,000 versus 1.05 million in the preceding month, suggesting that the labour market recovery is soft and that the recovery process will continue to be affected by the resurgence in Covid-19 cases,” he said.
He noted that such sentiment had affected the FBM KLCI’s performance.
“Nonetheless, the telco, plantation and banking counters have been in positive territory, mitigating the downward pressure,” said Mohd Afzanizam.
Moving forward, he said investors would be looking at Bank Negara Malaysia’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting tomorrow for clues on the market direction, particularly its assessment of the health of the economy.
Among the heavyweights, Malayan Banking Bhd and Petronas Chemicals Group Bhd added four sen each to RM8.31 and RM8.09, respectively, Public Bank Bhd gained five sen to RM4.15, IHH Healthcare Bhd rose 10 sen to RM6.40, while Tenaga Nasional Bhd reduced four sen to RM10.30.
Of the actives, KNM Group Bhd eased five sen to 26.5 sen, PUC Bhd improved one sen to 17.5 sen, Fintec Global Bhd edged up half-a-sen to 2.5 sen, while Borneo Oil Bhd and Metronic Global Bhd were flat at three sen and 3.5 sen, respectively.
On the index board, the FBM Emas Index rose 64.94 points to 11,665.3, the FBMT 100 Index was 78.17 points higher at 11,364.45, and the FBM Emas Shariah Index advanced 78.17 points to 12,788.33.
The FBM 70 improved 16.84 points to 15,240.52, while the FBM ACE dropped 108.22 points to 7,252.08.
Sector wise, the Plantation Index surged 107.29 points to 6,728.55, the Financial Services Index jumped 88.36 points to 15,526.44 and the Industrial Products and Services Index added 1.33 points to 202.61.
The Main Market volume increased to 3.83 billion shares worth RM2.85 billion from Tuesday’s 3.28 billion shares worth RM2.54 billion.
Warrants turnover rose to 377.15 million units valued at RM53.53 million compared to 330.7 million units valued at RM50 million.
Volume on the ACE Market widened to 1.71 billion shares worth RM337.99 million from 1.13 billion shares worth RM296.22 million yesterday.
Consumer products and services accounted for 414.3 million shares traded on the Main Market, industrial products and services (1.44 billion), construction (200.55 million), technology (216.71 million), SPAC (nil), financial services (67.73 million), property (197.38 million), plantation (32.31 million), REITs (10.92 million), closed/fund (7,000), energy (1.01 billion), healthcare (105.52 million), telecommunications and media (56.14 million), transportation and logistics (55.31 million) and utilities (19.15 million).
Source: The Edge
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