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 (June 20): Bursa Malaysia finished lower for the second consecutive day on Monday (June 20), with the benchmark composite index declining 1.06%, due to heavy selling pressure particularly in energy, technology and plantation stocks, a dealer said.
At 5pm, the barometer index fell 15.5 points to 1,441.24 from Friday's close of 1,456.74.
The benchmark index, which opened 2.34 points lower at 1,454.4, moved between 1,437.23 and 1,454.4 throughout the day.
On the broader market, losers trumped gainers 747 to 200, while 351 counters were unchanged, 986 untraded and 18 others suspended.Total turnover depreciated to 2.62 billion units worth RM1.69 billion from 3.06 billion units worth RM3.02 billion on Friday.
Regionally, Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd vice president of equity research Thong Pak Leng said key indices ended mixed as investors were concerned about the possibility of recession due to tightening monetary policies from the major central banks.
“On the domestic front, the local market is seeing heavy selling pressure by foreign funds,” he said.
He added that Rakuten Trade anticipates the FBM KLCI to trend within a wider range of 1,435-1,465 for the week with immediate support at 1,435 and resistance at 1,490 in view of the greater volatility.
Bursa heavyweights Malayan Banking Bhd slid 23 sen to RM8.65, MISC Bhd fell 21 sen to RM7.18, Press Metal Aluminium Holdings Bhd shed 11 sen to RM4.59, Tenaga Nasional Bhd declined 17 sen to RM8.13 and Public Bank Bhd lost six sen to RM4.43.
Of the actives, SFP Tech Holdings Bhd gained 37 sen to 67 sen, Cypark Resources Bhd added three sen to 37 sen, while Dagang NeXchange Bhd inched down 4.5 sen to 76.5 sen, Sapura Energy Bhd decreased half-a-sen to four sen and MNC Wireless Bhd was unchanged at 1.5 sen.
On the index board, the FBM Emas Index dipped 135.64 points to 10,262.23, FBM Emas Shariah Index declined 121.45 points to 10,405.04, FBM 70 slipped 250.55 points to 12,363.86, the FBMT 100 Index shrank 130.02 points to 10,006.99, while FBM ACE narrowed 96.42 points to 4,737.56.
Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index contracted 260.86 points to 16,044.98, the Plantation Index inched down 103.73 points to 7,114.5 and the Industrial Products and Services Index was 2.83 points lower at 183.48.
Main Market volume fell to 1.43 billion shares worth RM1.28 billion from 2.21 billion shares worth RM2.83 billion on Friday.
Warrants turnover slid to 389.81 million units valued at RM88.63 million against 482.55 million units valued at RM95.77 million on Friday.
ACE Market volume widened to 801.26 million shares worth RM320.01 million from 362.23 million shares worth RM93.03 million previously.
Consumer products and services counters accounted for 178.35 million shares traded on the Main Market, industrial products and services (417.67 million), construction (46.2 million), technology (244.9 million), SPAC (nil), financial services (52.39 million), property (76.33 million), plantation (32.89 million), REITs (6.11 million), closed/fund (21,000), energy (267.29 million), healthcare (51.75 million), telecommunications and media (15.49 million), transportation and logistics (27.78 million), and utilities (14.11 million).
Source: The Edge
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