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 (Oct 6): Persistent buying momentum for plantation and oil and gas stocks amid growing optimism about a global economic recovery pushed Bursa Malaysia to close on a firm note on Wednesday, with the benchmark index ending at almost a one-month high.
The benchmark FBM KLCI rose 29.0 points or 1.9% to end the day at the day’s high of 1,559.42, compared with 1,530.42 at Tuesday’s close.
The index, which opened 0.95 of a point firmer at 1,531.37, moved in positive territory throughout the day with its intraday low recorded at 1,531.13.
Gainers trounced decliners 612 to 433, while 582 counters were unchanged, 644 untraded and 12 others suspended.
Turnover surged to 4.54 billion units worth RM3.44 billion, compared with 3.97 billion units valued at RM2.69 billion on Tuesday.
Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd vice-president of equity research Thong Pak Leng said the KLCI was mainly lifted by plantation and O&G heavyweights following firmer crude palm oil (CPO) and crude oil prices.
“The KLCI will see a strong resistance at 1,550, followed by 1,580. If it gets past the 1,550 level, the chances of it going higher would be bigger,” he told Bernama, adding that the support level remained at 1,520.
The benchmark CPO futures contract on Bursa Malaysia Derivatives reached RM5,000 per tonne for the first time on Tuesday and closed at an all-time high of RM4,738 a tonne, while crude oil prices stood at above the US$82 (about RM343.13)-per-barrel mark.
Among the index-linked plantation and O&G counters, Sime Darby Plantation Bhd soared 54 sen to RM4.20, IOI Corp Bhd increased 31 sen to RM4.08, Kuala Lumpur Kepong Bhd (KLK) surged RM1.72 to RM21.90, Dialog Group Bhd climbed 25 sen to RM2.69 and Petronas Chemicals Group Bhd (PetChem) garnered 14 sen to RM8.83.
As for other heavyweights, Malayan Banking Bhd (Maybank) rose seven sen to RM8.08, IHH Healthcare Bhd added two sen to RM6.62, Tenaga Nasional Bhd (TNB) went up 12 sen to RM9.74, CIMB Group Holdings Bhd bagged 10 sen to RM4.82 and Public Bank Bhd was flat at RM4.06.
Of the actives, SC Estate Builder Bhd gained three sen to 12 sen and Kanger International Bhd inched up half a sen to six sen, while AT Systematization Bhd and Sapura Energy Bhd were flat at 5.5 sen and 10 sen respectively.
On the index board, the FBM Emas Index rose 174.69 points to 11,454.44, the FBMT 100 Index climbed 175.55 points to 11,122.58, the FBM Emas Shariah Index jumped 245.96 points to 12,582.91, the FBM ACE advanced 60.81 points to 7,072.08 and the FBM 70 increased 115.06 points to 15,033.25.
Sector-wise, the Plantation Index added 512.99 points to 6,917.23, the Industrial Products and Services Index improved 3.14 points to 208.18, while the Financial Services Index strengthened 102.64 points to 15,204.67.
Main Market volume improved to 2.99 billion shares worth RM3.07 billion, compared with 2.78 billion shares worth RM2.36 billion on Tuesday.
Warrant turnover decreased to 375.76 million units worth RM51.82 million against 389.6 million units valued at RM66.68 million on Tuesday.
ACE Market volume surged to 1.17 billion shares worth RM321.37 million from 795.76 million shares worth RM263.87 million previously.
Consumer products and services counters accounted for 429.75 million shares traded on the Main Market, followed by industrial products and services (973.98 million), construction (83.28 million), technology (271.5 million), SPAC (nil), financial services (62.55 million), property (220.77 million), plantation (168.51 million), real estate investment trust (6.66 million), closed/fund (47,100), energy (597.53 million), healthcare (51.3 million), telecommunications and media (34.5 million), transportation and logistics (77.99 million), and utilities (18.38 million).
Source: The Edge
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