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 27): Bargain-hunting and window-dressing activities particularly in glove and banking stocks lifted Bursa Malaysia to end higher on Monday (Dec 27), with the benchmark index gaining 1.15%.
As at 5pm, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) surged 17.46 points to end at 1,533.91 compared with 1,516.45 at Friday’s close.
The index opened 0.92 of-a-point higher at 1,517.37 and moved between 1,515.1 and 1,535.93 throughout the day.
On the broader market, gainers outpaced losers 486 to 335, while 424 counters were unchanged,1,065 untraded, and 14 others suspended.
Turnover increased to 2.21 billion units valued at RM1.36 billion from Friday’s 1.88 billion units valued at RM911.77 million.
Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd vice-president of equity research Thong Pak Leng said the company reckoned that some bargain-hunting and window-dressing activities would continue given the cheap valuations of the local market as compared to regional peers.
“On the other hand, we shall remain cautious given the heightened market volatility across the region as some investors are still cautious as uncertainty over the economic impact of the Omicron coronavirus variant weighed on investor sentiment.
“Other regional markets such as Singapore, Taiwan and the Philippines were positive but gains were capped as China and Japan faced prospects of tighter curbs amid rising Covid-19 cases,” he told Bernama.
Japan's Nikkei 225 slipped 0.37% to 28,676.46, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index gained 0.13% to 23,223.76, Singapore’s Straits Times Index shed 0.13% to 3,104.24, and South Korea’s Kospi fell 0.43% to 2,999.55.
Among the banking heavyweights, Malayan Banking Bhd added five sen to RM8.30, Public Bank Bhd and CIMB Group Holdings Bhd rose three sen each to RM4.15 and RM5.39, respectively, and Hong Leong Bank Bhd was 16 sen higher at RM18.66.
Other heavyweights, Petronas Chemicals Group Bhd advanced eight sen to RM8.85 and IHH Healthcare Bhd was nine sen higher at RM6.66, Tenaga Nasional Bhd added 10 sen to RM9.31, and Press Metal Aluminium Holdings Bhd increased 12 sen to RM5.65.
Of the actives, XOX Bhd and AT Systematization Bhd were both flat at three sen and 3.5 sen respectively, SMTrack Bhd perked up half-a-sen to 14 sen, and ATA IMS Bhd dipped 5.5 sen to 65.5 sen.
For rubber-related stocks, Top Glove Corp Bhd added 17 sen to RM2.36, Kuala Lumpur Kepong Bhd added 20 sen to RM21.62, and Rubberex Corporation (M) Bhd added 1.5 sen to 53 sen.
On the index board, the FBM Emas Index was 106.4 points higher at 11,101.91, the FBMT 100 Index climbed 107.5 points to 10,809.21, and the FBM Emas Shariah Index increased 138.98 points to 11,941.66.
The FBM 70 rose 72.77 points to 14,076.18 while the FBM ACE gained 37.81 points to 6,277.93.
Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index perked up 92.43 points to 15,515.06, the Industrial Products and Services Index rose 1.77 points to 199.31, and the Plantation Index shed 58.67 points to 6,547.18.
The Main Market volume expanded to 1.23 billion shares valued at RM1.16 billion versus last Friday’s 981.6 million shares valued at RM757.87 million.
Warrants turnover increased to 145.92 million units worth RM9.48 million compared with 101.41 million units worth RM16.12 million last Friday.
The ACE Market volume improved to 825.87 million shares valued at RM187.64 million from 800.9 million shares valued at RM137.45 million previously.
Consumer products and services counters accounted for 216.67 million shares traded on the Main Market, industrial products and services (444.84 million), construction (55.88 million), technology (138.37 million), SPAC (nil), financial services (33.61 million), property (78.8 million), plantation (6.63 million), REITs (3.92 million), closed/fund (2,000), energy (96.48 million), healthcare (90.8 million), telecommunications and media (21.73 million), transportation and logistics (37.06 million), and utilities (9.12 million).
Source: The Edge
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