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 20): Bursa Malaysia ended lower on Tuesday (Dec 20) in tandem with the decline in regional markets as hawkish central banks narrative continued to weigh on global risk sentiment, said an analyst.
At 5pm, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) dipped 0.66% or 9.77 points to 1,467.32 from Monday's closing of 1,477.09.
The market bellwether, which opened 3.36 points easier at 1,473.73, moved between 1,464.86 and 1,476.23 during the day.
On the broader market, losers thumped gainers 544 to 328, while 401
counters were unchanged, 965 untraded and 12 others suspended.
Turnover fell to 2.77 billion units worth RM1.78 billion versus 3.02 billion units worth RM1.79 billion on Monday.
SPI Asset Management managing director Stephen Innes said the Bank of Japan (BOJ) is adding to the rate hike angst after the US Federal Reserve (Fed) and European Central Bank (ECB) surprised the market with their hawkish side last week.
Asian shares reportedly fell sharply on Tuesday after Japan's central bank unexpectedly tweaked its bond yield control, which allows long-term interest rates to rise more.
"Stocks are still struggling to come to terms with that. The global stocks are slumping, and the FBM KLCI is no exception, joining the regional beatdown.
"Besides that, the expected multiple surges of Covid-19 waves are adding more uncertainty to the global economies," he told Bernama.
Meanwhile, Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd vice president of equity research Thong Pak Leng expects market sentiment on the local bourse to remain cautious due to external factors such as increasing market risks and volatility on global markets.
“Nonetheless, valuations of the FBM KLCI remain cheap, hence we believe bargain-hunting may set in moving forward.
"We expect the benchmark index to move within the 1,460 to 1,490 range for the remainder of the week," he said.
Bursa Malaysia heavyweights Malayan Banking Bhd (Maybank) decreased one sen to RM8.70, Public Bank Bhd fell three sen to RM4.37, Petronas Chemicals Group Bhd slid 33 sen to RM8.18, Tenaga Nasional Bhd (TNB) slipped 13 sen to RM9.18, while CIMB Group Holdings Bhd gained four sen to RM5.82.
Of the actives, Leform Bhd added two sen to 23.5 sen, Yew Lee Pacific Group Bhd perked up half-a-sen to 43 sen, Advance Synergy Bhd eased two sen to 18.5 sen, Sunview Group Bhd slipped two sen to 59.5 sen, and Serba Dinamik Holdings Bhd was flat at 1.5 sen.
On the index board, the FBM Emas Index was down by 69.15 points to 10,532.85, the FBMT 100 Index fell 68.32 points to 10,240.22, the FBM Emas Shariah Index dropped 103.16 points to 10,641.07, the FBM 70 Index gave up 86.37 points to 12,863.21, and the FBM ACE Index shed 3.47 points to 5,474.33.
Sector-wise, the Plantation Index slipped 49.96 points to 6,821.58, the Industrial Products and Services Index inched down by 3.49 points to 177.73, the Financial Services Index dipped 9.49 points to 16,548.35, and the Energy Index eased 3.96 points to 783.2.
The Main Market volume declined to 1.53 billion shares worth RM1.32 billion against 1.71 billion shares worth RM1.25 billion on Monday.
Warrants turnover decreased to 252.68 million units valued at RM59.34 million versus 287.06 million units valued at RM68.46 million.
The ACE Market volume dwindled to 988.72 million shares worth RM401.51 million compared to 1.02 billion shares worth RM473.25 million previously.
Consumer products and services counters accounted for 363.7 million shares traded on the Main Market, industrial products and services (334.87 million), construction (48.4 million), technology (223.55 million), SPAC (nil), financial services (51.48 million), property (73.09 million), plantation (15.49 million), REITs (2.55 million), closed/fund (5,000), energy (244.49 million), healthcare (84.03 million), telecommunications and media (31.36 million), transportation and logistics (41.2 million), and utilities (17.59 million).
Source: The Edge
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