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 (July 4): Bursa Malaysia ended the first trading day of the week broadly lower as investors stayed on the sidelines ahead of Bank Negara Malaysia's (BNM) decision on interest rates later this week.
At 5pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) slipped 12.22 points or 0.84% to finish at its intraday low of 1,437.52 from Friday’s close of 1,449.74, after opening at an intraday high of 1,449.5.
The overall market breadth was negative with losers outnumbering gainers 468 to 297, while 388 counters were unchanged, 1,076 untraded, and nine others suspended.
Total turnover increased to 1.74 billion units valued at RM1.08 billion from Friday’s 1.49 billion units valued at RM1.15 billion.
Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd vice-president of equity research Thong Pak Leng said the local bourse ended broadly lower on Monday after a lacklustre trading session as investors seemed reluctant to make more significant moves due to the absence of buying catalysts.
“We remain cautious and believe the near-term direction of the local market is still very much dependent on the regional volatility. Nonetheless, we believe accumulation of stocks to persist on dips.
“As such, we anticipate the FBM KLCI to hover between a wider range of between 1,430 and 1,460 for the the week, with immediate support at 1,430 and resistance at 1,465,” he told Bernama.
Meanwhile, Maybank Investment Bank Bhd on Monday said it is estimating a 100 basis points (bps) increase in the overnight policy rate for the period between the second half of 2022 (2H2022) and 1H2023.
The bank expects BNM to announce a 25bps hike within this week's monetary policy meeting and another 25bps by the fourth quarter 2022, and a further 50bps in 1H2023.
On the local bourse, heavyweights Petronas Chemicals Group Bhd added four sen to RM9.12, CIMB Group Holdings Bhd was flat at RM5.03, Malayan Banking Bhd shed two sen to RM8.60, Public Bank Bhd eased three sen to RM4.39, and IHH Healthcare Bhd declined five sen to RM6.43.
Of the actives, Jade Marvel Group Bhd and Widad Group Bhd were flat at 91 sen and 36.5 sen, respectively, Reach Energy Bhd inched down half-a-sen to five sen, Top Glove Corp Bhd slid 3.5 sen to 97.5 sen, and Dagang NeXchange Bhd was one sen lower at 78 sen.
On the index board, the FBM Emas Index trimmed 89.84 points to 10,226.04, FBM Emas Shariah Index dipped 127.21 points to 10,353.77, FBM 70 lost 109.51 points to 12,294.03, FBM ACE decreased 67.07 points to 4,717.45, and the FBMT 100 Index shaved off 85.75 points to 9,973.96.
Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index went down 17 points to 16,039.81, the Industrial Products and Services Index was 1.49 points weaker at 180.2, and the Plantation Index slid 34.13 points to 6,890.59.
Main Market volume decreased slightly to 1.04 billion shares worth RM907.02 million against Friday’s 1.05 billion shares worth RM1.00 billion.
Warrants turnover swelled to 371.77 million units worth RM72.25 million from 172.71 million units valued at RM32.88 million previously.
ACE Market volume increased to 329.36 million shares worth RM100.21 million versus 303.48 million shares worth RM113.55 million.
Consumer products and services counters accounted for 144.87 million shares traded on the Main Market, industrial products and services (322.19 million), construction (40.54 million), technology (111.14 million), SPAC (nil), financial services (26.15 million), property (77.89 million), plantation (33.52 million), REITs (2.97 million), closed/fund (nil), energy (154.33 million), healthcare (78.18 million), telecommunications and media (19.43 million), transportation and logistics (17.76 million), and utilities (7.94 million).
Source: The Edge
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