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 9): Bursa Malaysia reversed yesterday’s gains, ending in the red today on selling pressure across the board.
Of the index-linked stocks, Top Glove Corporation Bhd, MISC Bhd, and Press Metal Aluminium Holdings Bhd were the top losers, which together weighed down the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) by a combined 7.54 points, dealers said.
At 5pm, the barometer index fell by 18.74 points to finish at 1,578.89 from Wednesday’s close of 1,597.63.
After opening 5.45 points lower at 1,592.18, the FBM KLCI moved between 1,577.45 and 1,592.74 today.
In the broader market, losers thumped gainers 747 to 338, while 413 counters were unchanged, 721 untraded and six others suspended.
Turnover was lower at 4.18 billion units worth RM2.92 billion compared with 5.91 billion units worth RM3.23 billion on Wednesday.
A dealer said the local bourse stayed in negative territory since opening, tracking the lacklustre overnight performance of global stocks amid investors’ anticipation of the unwinding of central banks’ Covid-19 stimulus measures.
“Bursa also remained in consolidation mode, with today's decline exacerbated by regional weaknesses as well,” he told Bernama.
Meanwhile, Bank Islam chief economist Dr Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid commented that the selling pressure was quite broad based, reflecting that investors were trying to lock in some gains after the recent rally in equity prices.
“Concerns over the US labour market since last week, China’s regulatory crackdown on private companies and intermittent lockdowns in some jurisdictions following the rise in Covid-19 infections might have triggered the selling pressure.
“And today, Bank Negara Malaysia has kept the Overnight Policy Rate unchanged at 1.75% with the balance of risks now tilted to the downside. So what we are seeing this week is the rise in risk aversion,” he said.
He added that clearly, the rise in Covid-19 new cases would continue to rock the market despite higher vaccination rates globally, and this was especially true as certain jurisdictions had been reportedly going back into lockdowns, hence indicating that the pace of the economic recovery would stay uneven.
Regionally, Japan’s Nikkei 225 eased 0.57% to 30,008.19, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index fell 2.3% to 25,716, and South Korea’s Kospi slipped 1.53% to 3,114.7, while Singapore’s Straits Times Index edged up 0.01% to 3,069.22.
Back home, heavyweights Malayan Banking Bhd and Public Bank Bhd slipped five sen each to RM8.26 and RM4.10, respectively, Petronas Chemicals Group Bhd eased one sen to RM8.08, and Tenaga Nasional Bhd shed four sen to RM10.26, but IHH Healthcare Bhd rose 21 sen to RM6.61.
Of the actives, Kanger International Bhd edged up half-a-sen to 6.5 sen and KNM Group Bhd lost half-a-sen to 26 sen. Meanwhile, TA Win Holdings Bhd, JOE Holding Bhd and Focus Dynamics Group Bhd were flat at 14.5 sen, five sen and 5.5 sen, respectively.
On the index board, the FBM Emas Index fell 130.77 points to 11,534.53, the FBMT 100 Index was 132.78 points lower at 11,231.67, and the FBM Emas Shariah Index dropped 147.79 points to 12,640.54.
The FBM 70 tumbled 176.03 points to 15,064.49 and the FBM ACE slipped 58.52 points to 7,193.56.
Sector wise, the Plantation Index shed 74.84 points to 6,653.71, the Financial Services Index declined 137.53 points to 15,388.91, and the Industrial Products and Services Index slid 1.66 points to 200.95.
The Main Market volume shrank to 2.69 billion shares worth RM2.62 billion from Wednesday’s 3.83 billion shares worth RM2.85 billion.
Warrants turnover rose to 395.47 million units valued at RM62.95 million compared to 377.15 million units valued at RM53.53 million previously.
Volume on the ACE Market narrowed to 1.09 billion shares worth RM236.47 million from 1.71 billion shares worth RM337.99 million yesterday.
Consumer products and services accounted for 482.85 million shares traded on the Main Market, industrial products and services (974.03 million), construction (159.52 million), technology (254.17 million), SPAC (nil), financial services (65.72 million), property (158.64 million), plantation (71.4 million), REITs (11.07 million), closed/fund (9,700), energy (267.93 billion), healthcare (122.51 million), telecommunications and media (29.11 million), transportation and logistics (76.62 million) and utilities (18.92 million).
Source: The Edge
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