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 (Dec 13): Bursa Malaysia ended higher on Monday (Dec 13), taking a cue from the better performance on Wall Street last Friday (Dec 10) and strong commodity prices amid receding concerns over the Omicron variant’s impact on global economic growth, dealers said.
At 5pm, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) rose 5.98 points to 1,494.86 compared with 1,488.88 at last Friday’s close.
The index, which opened three points higher at 1,491.88, moved between 1,491.85 and 1,501.88 throughout the day.
On the broader market, gainers outpaced losers 491 to 386, while 439 counters were unchanged, 979 untraded and 21 others suspended.
Turnover increased to 2.63 billion units valued at RM1.85 billion from Friday’s 2.60 billion units valued at RM1.74 billion.
A dealer said the local bourse rebounded from last Friday’s losses to open higher and stayed in positive territory throughout the day, bucking the regional market trend which turned mixed at close.
Persistent buying in heavyweights stocks led by Petronas Chemicals Group Bhd (PetChem), Tenaga Nasional Bhd and financial sector stocks continued to support the barometer index, he said.
“Investors are focusing more on the conclusion of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting this week as well as other central banks for further clues on the monetary policies going forward.
“However, major attention will be given to the FOMC’s reaction to the Omicron variant, as well as the timing of its stimulus tapering and rate hikes, for market direction,” he added.
Regionally, Japan's Nikkei 225 rose 0.71% to 28,640.49, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index eased 0.17% to 23,954.58, South Korea’s Kospi slipped 0.28% to 3,001.66, and Singapore’s Straits Times Index shed 0.35% to 3,124.66.
Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd vice president of equity research Thong Pak Leng said investors were cautious ahead of monetary policy meetings this week, including of the US Federal Reserve, the Bank of Japan, the Bank of England and the European Central Bank.
“As for the local bourse, we remain cautious despite the bargain hunting today [Dec 13] due to the heightened market volatility and external uncertainties.
“Hence we expect the benchmark index to remain in range-bound trading in the 1,490 to 1,505 range for the remainder of the week with immediate resistance at 1,515 and support at 1,485,” he told Bernama.
Among the heavyweights, PetChem surged 13 sen to RM8.55 and Tenaga jumped 12 sen to RM9.28.
Malayan Banking Bhd and CIMB Group Holdings Bhd gained six sen each to RM8.18 and RM5.24, respectively, and Public Bank Bhd improved one sen to RM4, but IHH Healthcare Bhd eased two sen to RM6.56.
Of the actives, ATA IMS Bhd bagged 2.5 sen to 54 sen, Lambo Group Bhd edged up half-a-sen to five sen, Dataprep holdings Bhd shed five sen to RM1.04, Macpie Bhd eased half-a-sen to four sen, and Kanger International Bhd was flat at two sen.
On the index board, the FBM Emas Index was 29.5 points higher at 10,889.29, the FBMT 100 Index advanced 23.07 points to 10,584.64, the FBM Emas Shariah Index increased 11.07 points to 11,725.32, and the FBM ACE added 2.76 points to 6,231.08.
The FBM 70 fell 46.11 points to 13,999.92.
Sector-wise, the Industrial Products and Services Index improved 1.4 points to 194.7, the Financial Services Index picked up 112.2 points to 15,221.53, and the Plantation Index bagged 62.6 points to 6,529.09.
The Main Market volume widened to 1.65 billion shares valued at RM1.62 billion versus Friday’s 1.48 billion shares valued at RM1.45 billion.
Warrants turnover increased to 270.54 million units worth RM46.49 million against 236.09 million units worth RM33.01 million.
The volume on the ACE Market reduced to 705.4 million shares valued at RM182.02 million from 823.75 million shares valued at RM261.61 million previously.
Consumer products and services counters accounted for 317.08 million shares traded on the Main Market, industrial products and services (498.34 million), construction (78.27 million), technology (238.73 million), SPAC (nil), financial services (69.53 million), property (104.33 million), plantation (12.46 million), REITs (6.44 million), closed/fund (792,800), energy (138.51 million), healthcare (112.41 million), telecommunications and media (23.52 million), transportation and logistics (35.26 million), and utilities (16.69 million).
Source: The Edge
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