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 (Nov 2): Bursa Malaysia ended on a positive note on Tuesday on bargain hunting as investors picked up beaten-down counters after Monday's sharp fall, dealers said.
At 5pm, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) rose 6.71 points to 1,537.63 from Monday's close of 1,530.92.
The index, which opened 1.29 points firmer at 1,532.21, fluctuated between 1,532.21 and 1,544 during the day.
On the broader market, gainers outpaced losers 629 to 404, while 434 counters were unchanged, 808 untraded, and 15 others suspended.Turnover rose to 3.65 billion units valued at RM2.71 billion from Monday’s 3.47 billion units valued at RM3.23 billion.
A dealer said Bursa Malaysia remained in the positive territory since the opening bell on Tuesday morning, taking cues from a stronger Wall Street performance overnight, which saw the US market hovering around record highs on optimism over corporate earnings and gains for energy shares and Tesla.
“The local bourse’s performance bucked the regional trend which closed mostly lower as investors remained cautious ahead of a policy decision by the US Federal Reserve on Wednesday as well as other key central banks’ for further market direction,” he said.
Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd vice-president of equity research Thong Pak Leng said the rise in Bursa Malaysia's benchmark index was mainly lifted by banking and gaming heavyweights.
“The FBM KLCI seemed to be quite well supported at the 1,520 to 1,530 level, hence we reckon an accumulation of stocks to persist on dips, especially the blue chip stocks wherein valuations are currently hovering at attractive levels.
“Notwithstanding the heightened volatility, we expect the index to move between the 1,530 and 1,560 range for the remaining of the week. From a technical point of view, we will see the immediate support at 1,520 and resistance at 1,565,” he told Bernama.
Regionally, Japan’s Nikkei 225 decreased 0.43% to 29,520.9, Singapore’s Straits Times Index added 0.39% to 3,231.51, and South Korea’s Kospi rose 1.16% to 3,013.49, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index fell 0.22% to 25,099.67.
Among the heavyweights, Petronas Chemicals Group Bhd shed seven sen to RM8.28, IHH Healthcare Bhd eased two sen to RM6.46, while Malayan Banking Bhd, Public Bank Bhd and Tenaga Nasional Bhd were all flat at RM7.99, RM4.04 and RM9.60 respectively.
Of the actives, Dagang NeXchange Bhd increased 5.5 sen to 82.5 sen, Top Builders Capital Bhd slipped three sen to 2.5 sen, and AirAsia X Bhd lost two sen to 5.5 sen, while both Kanger International Bhd and Ta Win Holdings Bhd were flat at four sen and 15.5 sen, respectively.
On the index board, the FBM Emas Index strengthened 68.32 points to 11,398.49, the FBMT 100 Index rose 57.52 points to 11,017.02, the FBM 70 went up 115.51 points to 15,085.3, the FBM Emas Shariah Index jumped 91.52 points to 12,457.59, and the FBM ACE advanced 72.24 points to 7,122.47.
Sector-wise, the Industrial Products and Services Index added 1.21 points to 203.35, the Plantation Index rose 129.51 points to 6,842.92, and the Financial Services Index improved 22.54 points to 15,179.81.
The Main Market volume improved to 2.35 billion shares worth RM2.33 billion from 2.27 billion shares worth RM2.89 billion on Monday.
Warrants turnover increased to 395.01 million units worth RM72.67 million versus 351.95 million units worth RM52.52 million on Monday.
Volume on the ACE Market rose to 908.16 million shares valued at RM304.85 million from Monday’s 838.38 million shares valued at RM288.84 million.
Consumer products and services counters accounted for 349.11 million shares traded on the Main Market, industrial products and services (697.92 million), construction (221.12 million), technology (414.12 million), SPAC (nil), financial services (90.49 million), property (157.45 million), plantation (20.57 million), REITs (6.34 million), closed/fund (3,500), energy (195.3 million), healthcare (48.31 million), telecommunications and media (27.31 million), transportation and logistics (109.94 million), and utilities (10.83 million).
Source: The Edge
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