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 1): Bursa Malaysia reversed Tuesday's (May 31) gains to end lower on Wednesday on profit taking, amid mixed performance on regional peers as investors remained cautious on uncertainties such as global recession, inflation and rising interest rates, dealers said.
At 5pm, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) declined 16.69 points or 1.06% to 1,553.41 from 1,570.1 at Tuesday’s close.
The index, which opened 6.7 points weaker at 1,563.4, moved between 1,552.22 and 1,563.89 throughout the session.
Market breadth skewed towards positive with gainers leading losers 508 to 450, while 405 counters were unchanged, 880 untraded, and 16 others suspended.Total turnover decreased to 2.57 billion units worth RM2.49 billion from 3.8 billion units worth RM6.11 billion on Tuesday.
Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd vice president of equity research Thong Pak Leng said on the local bourse, investors took profit as a result of a sudden surge in the FBM KLCI during the last minute of trading on Tuesday.
Key regional markets were broadly lower on Wednesday as investors were wary of prevailing uncertainties including global recession, inflation and rising interest rates.
He said US equities slumped overnight on fears of inflation and slower economic growth as the world is now facing a food crisis. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 222.84 points or 0.67% while the Nasdaq Composite declined by 49.74 points or 0.41%.
“We reckon that the short-term market sentiment will remain jittery amid the uncertain regional and global performance although bargain hunting may prevail.
“Hence, we anticipate the benchmark index to trend sideways, within the range of 1,550-1,565 for the remainder of the week,” Thong told Bernama, adding the immediate support for the key index was at 1,530 and resistance at 1,575.
Among heavyweights, Malayan Banking Bhd fell 21 sen to RM8.89, Public Bank Bhd slipped 10 sen to RM4.63, both Petronas Chemicals Group Bhd and IHH Healthcare Bhd lost 20 sen each to RM10.06 and RM6.50, respectively, while CIMB Group Holdings Bhd rose five sen to RM5.20.
Of the actives, Sapura Energy Bhd slid 1.5 sen to seven sen, Yong Tai Bhd was down half-a-sen to 10 sen, G3 Global Bhd eased one sen to 4.5 sen, while Genting Bhd added 49 sen to RM5.24 and Serba Dinamik Holdings Bhd gained one sen to 11 sen.
On the index board, the FBM 70 dipped 4.49 points to 13,234.63, FBMT 100 Index shank 89.72 points to 10,768.78, FBM Emas Index weakened 81.01 points to 11,070.89, FBM Emas Shariah Index retreated 96.13 points to 11,413.5, while the FBM ACE declined 1.99 points to 5,183.65.
Sector-wise, the Industrial Products and Services Index shed 2.55 points to 200.66, the Plantation Index dipped 27.43 points to 7,936.55, and the Financial Services Index declined 164.11 points to 16,746.58.
Main Market volume decreased to 1.92 billion shares worth RM2.35 billion from 3.01 billion shares worth RM5.92 billion on Tuesday.
Warrants turnover trimmed to 362.54 million units valued at RM58.65 million versus 384.26 million units valued at RM80.84 million on Tuesday.
ACE Market volume dwindled to 282.48 million shares worth RM81.58 million from 399.22 million shares worth RM103.63 million previously.
Consumer products and services counters accounted for 376.98 million shares traded on the Main Market, industrial products and services (376.21 million), construction (41.97 million), technology (169.8 million), SPAC (nil), financial services (79.36 million), property (185.22 million), plantation (54.5 million), REITs (5.06 million), closed/fund (nil), energy (496.72 million), healthcare (38.02 million), telecommunications and media (27.53 million), transportation and logistics (52.93 million), and utilities (21.33 million).
Source: The Edge
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