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 13): The FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) erased earlier losses to finish marginally higher as bargain hunting emerged during late trading, amid the mixed performance by regional peers.
At 5pm, the benchmark FBM KLCI went up 0.58 of-a-point to end at an intraday high of 1,475.17 compared with last Friday's close of 1,474.59.
The key index opened 0.13 points better at 1,474.72 and hit a low of 1,469.26 before the midday break.
Turnover decreased to 3.69 billion units worth RM2.05 billion against Friday's 4.08 billion units worth RM2.5 billion.
Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd vice-president of equity research Thong Pak Leng said the key regional indices ended mostly lower ahead of a week of crucial economic data releases, including the US consumer price index that will determine the Federal Reserve’s path forward.
Additionally, the choppy trading on Wall Street reflected the lingering uncertainty about the outlook for interest rates ahead of this week's closely watched inflation data.
“As for the local bourse, we maintain our view that the outlook of Malaysian equities will remain stable in the medium term given their attractive valuations, stronger corporate earnings and improving economic conditions locally,” he told Bernama.
Nonetheless, Thong reckoned that investor sentiment will remain soft for the time being due to external factors.
“Hence, we anticipate the FBM KLCI to trend sideways slightly biased towards positive, within the 1,470-1,490 range for the week, with immediate resistance at 1,500 and support at 1,460,” he added.
Bursa Malaysia heavyweights Malayan Banking Bhd gained two sen to RM8.77, CIMB Group Holdings Bhd added seven sen to RM5.44, Tenaga Nasional Bhd rose 14 sen to RM9.91, while Public Bank Bhd lost one sen to RM4.19, and Petronas Chemicals Group Bhd slid 17 sen to RM8.08.
As for active stocks, Sapura Energy Bhd went up one sen to 5.5 sen, VinVest Capital Holdings Bhd increased by 2.5 sen to 23.5 sen, while MyEG Services Bhd slipped half-a-sen to 60.5 sen, Velesto Energy Bhd dipped half-a-sen to 23.5 sen, and Zen Tech International Bhd shed one sen to 2.5 sen.
On the index board, the FBM Emas Index dipped 6.27 points to 10,733.77, the FBMT 100 Index slid 2.16 points to 10,403.57, the FBM Emas Shariah Index slipped 25.14 points to 11,021.27, the FBM 70 Index dwindled 29.55 points to 13,540.43, and the FBM ACE Index was 68.64 points lower at 5,675.36.
Sector-wise, the Energy Index rose 1.66 points to 898.03, and the Financial Services Index ticked up 37.59 points to 16,150.96. The Plantation Index edged down 47.78 points to 6,838.87 while the Industrial Products and Services Index eased by 2.15 points to 188.
The Main Market volume declined to 2.11 billion shares worth RM1.65 billion compared with last Friday’s 2.64 billion shares worth RM2.05 billion.
Warrants turnover narrowed to 414.75 million units worth RM53.41 million from 425.55 million units worth RM49.88 million last Friday.
The ACE Market volume increased to 1.17 billion shares worth RM338.11 million from 1.11 billion shares worth RM398.66 million previously.
Consumer products and services counters accounted for 221.06 million shares traded on the Main Market, industrial products and services (537.24 million), construction (128.63 million), technology (398.89 million), SPAC (nil), financial services (63.07 million), property (174.84 million), plantation (41.31 million), REITs (9.64 million), closed/fund (nil), energy (391.91 million), healthcare (63.9 million), telecommunications and media (18.74 million), transportation and logistics (46.25 million), and utilities (14.19 million).
Source: The Edge
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