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 (May 11): Bursa Malaysia closed marginally lower on Thursday (May 11), with cautious investor sentiment pushing the key benchmark index down for a third straight day.
At 5pm, the FBM KLCI had eased by 0.04% or half a point to 1,425.18, from Wednesday’s close at 1,425.68.
The barometer index opened at 1,425.58, and moved between 1,424.82 and 1,428.78 throughout the day.
Market breadth was negative, with decliners surpassing gainers 467 to 310, while 465 counters were unchanged, 991 untraded, and 17 others suspended.
Turnover increased to 3.39 billion units valued at RM1.62 billion, from 2.78 billion units valued at RM1.65 billion on Wednesday.
Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd equity research vice-president Thong Pak Leng said regional bourses closed mostly lower on US banking worries, and a mixed Wall Street performance overnight.
He noted that the KLCI ended in negative territory, due to selling during the final minutes of trading.
The KLCI was again stuck within tight consolidation mode due to a lack of fresh catalysts, he added.
“Nonetheless, we reckon that the outlook of local equities remains steady due to prevailing cheap valuations, while fundamentals of the local economy remain strong.
“Hence, we anticipate the benchmark index to trend higher within the range of 1,425-1,435 towards the weekend. From a technical point of view, we see immediate resistance for the KLCI at 1,440, while support is at 1,415,” Thong told Bernama.
Among the heavyweight stocks, Malayan Banking Bhd (Maybank) added four sen to RM8.74 a share, and Public Bank Bhd gained two sen to RM4.01.
Petronas Chemicals Group Bhd lost 15 sen to RM7.16, CIMB Group Holdings Bhd fell seven sen to RM4.95, and IHH Healthcare Bhd dropped two sen to RM5.88.
As for the actives, VinVest Capital Holdings Bhd at 19.5 sen and Eduspec Holdings Bhd at 2.5 sen had slipped half a sen each. Bahvest Resources Bhd increased 1.5 sen to 13 sen, and Seal Incorporated Bhd went up two sen to 43 sen, while Fitters Diversified Bhd was flat at five sen.
On the index board, the FBM Emas Index slid 14.06 points to 10,430.93, the FBMT 100 Index erased 14.82 points to 10,127.52, and the FBM Emas Shariah Index declined 28.64 points to 10,768.55.
The FBM ACE Index slid 15.52 points to 5,026.20, while the FBM 70 index went down 66.37 points to 13,509.95.
Sector-wise, the Industrial Products and Services Index edged down 1.08 points to 168.47, the Energy Index eased 1.50 points to 831.81, and the Financial Services Index weakened 9.73 points to 15,588.22.
The Plantation Index rose 75.79 points to 6,914.31.
The Main Market volume went up to 2.13 billion units valued at RM1.36 billion, from 1.87 billion units valued at RM1.44 billion on Wednesday.
Warrant turnover strengthened to 313.53 million units worth RM47.96 million, against 278.69 million units worth RM40.22 million a day earlier.
The ACE Market volume soared to 955.12 million shares valued at RM215.66 million, versus 638.24 million shares valued at RM166.15 million previously.
Consumer products and services counters accounted for 305.49 million shares traded on the Main Market, followed by industrial products and services (1.02 billion), construction (45.83 million), technology (154.08 million), special purpose acquisition companies (nil), financial services (68.78 million), property (230.54 million), plantation (36.14 million), real estate investment trusts (7.94 million), closed/funds (21,100), energy (64.70 million), healthcare (76.64 million), telecommunications and media (62.58 million), transportation and logistics (20.27 million), and utilities (29.73 million).
Source: The Edge
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