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 22): Bursa Malaysia snapped a three-day losing streak to end higher on Thursday (Dec 22), as bargain-hunting emerged, in line with regional markets, said a dealer.
At 5pm, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) rose 0.4% or 5.8 points to 1,468.35 from Wednesday's closing of 1,462.55.
The market bellwether, which opened 1.24 points better at 1,463.79, moved between 1,462.41 and 1,468.35 throughout the day.
On the broader market, gainers thumped losers 447 to 386, while 424 counters were unchanged, 1,007 untraded, and 22 others suspended.
Turnover was reduced to 2.50 billion units worth RM1.33 billion versus 2.91 billion units worth RM1.71 billion on Wednesday.
Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd vice president of equity research Thong Pak Leng said key regional indices were broadly higher on Thursday following a positive cue from Wall Street overnight.
“On the domestic trend, we expect the market undertone to remain steady due to improving investor sentiment and we expect the index to stay positive going forward.
“Furthermore, with buying support from the local institutions, we anticipate the FBM KLCI to continue its uptrend, within the range of 1,460 to 1,490 towards the weekend," he told Bernama.
From a technical point of view, Thong expects strong support at 1,460, with resistance at 1,500.
Bursa heavyweight Malayan Banking Bhd (Maybank) dropped seven sen to RM8.71, Public Bank Bhd eased one sen to RM4.40, CIMB Group Holdings Bhd slipped one sen to RM5.78, Tenaga Nasional Bhd lost three sen to RM9.14, and Petronas Chemicals Group Bhd gained 32 sen to RM8.40.
Of the actives, Reneuco Bhd gained 4.5 sen to 30 sen, Top Glove Corp Bhd climbed 3.5 sen to 75.5 sen, and Citaglobal Bhd inched up half-a-sen to 29.5 sen, while Advance Synergy Bhd was flat at 18 sen, and Serba Dinamik Holdings Bhd was unchanged at one sen.
On the index board, the FBM Emas Index was up by 45.15 points to 10,539.9, the FBM Emas Shariah Index rose 97.5 points to 10,649.67, the FBM 70 Index improved 71.2 points to 12,884.88, the FBM ACE Index bagged 35.8 points to 5,501.65, and the FBMT 100 Index earned 44.14 points to 10,249.67.
Sector-wise, the Plantation Index garnered 48.65 points to 6,822, and the Industrial Products and Services Index ticked up 3.11 points to 178.5.
However, the Energy Index was down 2.44 points to 781.83, and the Financial Services Index narrowed 50.67 points to 16,551.51.
The Main Market volume contracted to 1.44 billion shares worth RM986.39 million against 1.63 billion shares worth RM1.24 billion on Wednesday.
Warrants turnover rose to 365.2 million units valued at RM90.05 million versus 298.01 million units valued at RM49.1 million.
The ACE Market volume shrank to 694.25 million shares worth RM252.66 million compared with 981.97 million shares worth RM420.68 million previously.
Consumer products and services counters accounted for 411.44 million shares traded on the Main Market, industrial products and services (369.24 million), construction (44.33 million), technology (125.75 million), SPAC (nil), financial services (40.23 million), property (58.98 million), plantation (12.52 million), REITs (3.7 million), closed/fund (6,100), energy (186.36 million), healthcare (121.25 million), telecommunications and media (25.39 million), transportation and logistics (30.26 million), and utilities (13.1 million).
Source: The Edge
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