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 (Aug 29): Bursa Malaysia bucked the regional trend to end slightly higher, to stay just a whisker above the key 1,500 level, as buying interspersed with selling in heavyweights, said a dealer.
At 5pm, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) was 1.28 points better at 1,501.57 from last Friday’s closing of 1,500.29.
The benchmark index opened 13.77 points lower at 1,486.52 on Monday morning and moved between 1,481.79 points and 1,506.55 points throughout the day.
On the broader market, losers trumped gainers 616 to 278, while 387 counters were unchanged, 1,078 untraded, and 81 others suspended.
Total turnover fell to 1.94 billion units worth RM1.59 billion from 2.40 billion units worth RM1.86 billion last Friday.
A dealer said Bursa Malaysia opened sharply lower but turned positive at mid-morning on bargain hunting in selected heavyweights, led by plantation, consumer products and financial heavyweights, before succumbing to selling pressure at midday.
The Malaysian equities market turned positive again in the early afternoon session but continued in choppy trading before ending the day on a positive note.
“Meanwhile, Asian shares were mostly in the red, tracking Wall Street’s slump on Friday following US Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell's hawkish remarks on high interest rates to curb inflation. This will continue to fuel market volatility," the dealer noted.
Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd vice president of equity research Thong Pak Leng told Bernama the local benchmark index reversed earlier losses and closed in green, thanks to continuous foreign buying.
"Despite the cautious market undertone, we expect buying momentum to continue given the cheap valuations of local stocks and persistent inflow of foreign funds.
"We anticipate the FBM KLCI to hover within the range of 1,495 to 1,515 for the week. Technical point of view, we see immediate resistance at 1,530 and support at 1,470," he said.
Regionally, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index fell 0.73% to 20,023.22, Japan's Nikkei 225 slipped 2.66% to 27,878.96, Singapore’s Straits Times Index slid 0.74% to 3,225.51, and South Korea’s Kospi declined 2.18% to 2,426.89.
Back home, market heavyweights Malayan Banking Bhd (Maybank) added three sen to RM8.94, Petronas Chemicals Group Bhd rose 21 sen to RM8.90, CIMB Group Holdings Bhd shed six sen to RM5.40, IHH Healthcare Bhd lost three sen to RM6.34, while Public Bank Bhd was flat at RM4.63.
Of the actives, MyEG Services Bhd declined four sen to 71.5 sen, Dagang NeXchange Bhd slid 2.5 sen to 85 sen, Top Glove Corp Bhd shed three sen to 80 sen, Jade Marvel Group Bhd also fell three sen to 80.5 sen, while Agmo Holdings Bhd added 2.5 sen to 92 sen.
On the index board, the FBM Emas Index slipped 23.34 points to 10,625.5, the FBMT 100 Index lost 16.49 points to 10,376.87, the FBM 70 tumbled 122.49 points to 12,623.66, the FBM ACE went down 74.57 points to 4,881.8, and the FBM Emas Shariah Index gave up 26.63 points to 10,733.34.
Sector-wise, the Plantation Index was 52.03 points higher at 7,106.37, the Industrial Products and Services Index added 0.74 of-a-point to 182.92, the Energy Index eased 4.34 points to 723.1, and the Financial Services Index trimmed 1.3 points to 16,722.39.
The Main Market volume fell to 1.24 billion shares worth RM1.33 billion from 1.47 billion shares worth RM1.48 billion last Friday.
Warrants' turnover narrowed to 309.52 million units valued at RM50.32 million from 343.35 million units valued at RM56.16 million.
The ACE Market volume shrank to 397.63 million shares worth RM204.65 million from 580.52 million shares worth RM326.75 million previously.
Consumer products and services counters accounted for 164.71 million shares traded on the Main Market, industrial products and services (342.96 million), construction (41.22 million), technology (228.91 million), SPAC (nil), financial services (42.82 million), property (85.62 million), plantation (23.84 million), REITs (10.9 million), closed/fund (2,400), energy (145.98 million), healthcare (88.76 million), telecommunications and media (20.98 million), transportation and logistics (21.72 million), and utilities (16.55 million).
Source: The Edge
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