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 (Feb 7): The FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) closed broadly lower on renewed volatility as sentiment turned wary over the rising bond yield.
At 5pm, the benchmark FBM KLCI went down by 14.09 points or 0.95% to 1,476.38 compared with last Friday's close of 1,490.47.
The benchmark index opened 2.65 points lower at 1,487.82 and moved between 1,471.79 and 1,487.99 throughout the session.
The market breadth was negative with losers leading gainers 730 to 302, while 359 counters were unchanged, 795 untraded and 21 others suspended.
Turnover swelled to 5.24 billion units worth RM3.03 billion against last Friday's 4.36 billion units worth RM2.41 billion.
Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd senior analyst Kenneth Leong said the market bellwether was under pressure on concerns that global interest rates may continue to climb higher in the first half of 2023 as inflation data across the globe remained at elevated levels.
"Looking ahead, we reckon that further profit-taking may linger amid the lack of fresh leads. For now, the key focus will move onto the upcoming quarterly reporting season," he told Bernama.
Meanwhile, Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd vice-president of equity research Thong Pak Leng said the FBM KLCI closed lower after a lacklustre trading session with selling mainly on banking heavyweights.
He said key regional indices were mainly in negative territory following a downbeat cue from Wall Street overnight as investors shifted gears after considering the possibility that the US Federal Reserve may take longer to start cutting interest rates.
"Back home, we expect bargain hunting to emerge anytime soon as today's heavy selldown seems unjustified.
"We believe the overall outlook of Malaysian equities will remain stable in the medium term given their attractive valuations, stronger corporate earnings and improving local economic conditions," said Thong.
As such, he anticipates the FBM KLCI to trend higher within the 1,470 to 1,490 region for the week.
Bursa Malaysia heavyweights Malayan Banking Bhd dipped eight sen to RM8.63, CIMB Group Holdings Bhd declined eight sen to RM5.58, Public Bank Bhd slid five sen to RM4.16, Petronas Chemicals Group Bhd trimmed 16 sen to RM8.15, and Tenaga Nasional Bhd dwindled 18 sen to RM9.39.
As for the actives, My EG Services Bhd lost 25.5 sen to 70 sen, Iris Corp Bhd gained four sen to 16.5 sen, Ta Win Holdings Bhd rose one sen to eight sen, and Hong Seng Consolidated Bhd inched up half-a-sen to 19.5 sen, while Velesto Energy Bhd was flat at 24.5 sen.
On the index board, the FBM Emas Index lost 112.25 points to 10,774.1, the FBMT 100 Index declined 109.93 points to 10,437.96, the FBM Emas Shariah Index slipped 114.77 points to 11,097.5, the FBM 70 Index fell 188.54 points to 13,696.45, and the FBM ACE Index eased 6.62 points to 5,836.61.
Sector-wise, the Industrial Products and Services Index inched down 1.52 points to 190.23, the Energy Index decreased by 7.61 points to 898.5, the Financial Services Index dropped by 179.49 points to 16,135.33, and the Plantation Index shed 1.29 points to 6,925.95.
The Main Market volume increased to 3.77 billion shares worth RM2.63 billion compared with last Friday’s 2.93 billion shares worth RM1.89 billion.
Warrants turnover expanded to 369.18 million units worth RM46.26 million from 290.29 million units worth RM54.02 million previously.
The ACE Market volume narrowed to 1.09 billion shares worth RM348.63 million from 1.13 billion shares worth RM454.44 million last Friday.
Consumer products and services counters accounted for 277.69 million shares traded on the Main Market, industrial products and services (713.76 million), construction (94.29 million), technology (1.92 billion), SPAC (nil), financial services (85.58 million), property (146.24 million), plantation (32.74 million), REITs (14.22 million), closed/fund (200), energy (284.79 million), healthcare (72.19 million), telecommunications and media (41.29 million), transportation and logistics (77.45 million), and utilities (17.49 million).
Source: The Edge
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