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 (June 20): Bursa Malaysia ended mixed on Monday (June 20), trading cautiously in a tight range, with buying interspersed with selling in selected heavyweights, dealers said.
At 5pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) edged up one point, or 0.07%, to 1,388.33 from 1,387.33 at Monday’s (June 19) close.
The key index opened 0.09 of a point easier at 1,387.24 in the morning and moved between 1,383.86 and 1,388.75 throughout the trading session.
However, on the broader market, decliners trounced gainers 531 to 313, while 408 counters were unchanged, 1,031 untraded and 16 others suspended.
Turnover increased to 2.85 billion units worth RM1.75 billion versus 2.58 billion units worth RM1.47 billion on Monday.
A dealer said the local bourse was tracking its Asian peers which were mostly lower as market sentiment remained subdued.
Investors are still digesting China’s loan prime rate cut by 10 basis points across the board on Tuesday, while awaiting an upcoming testimony by the US Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell before Congress on Wednesday (June 21) for clues of the market direction, he noted.
Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd senior analyst Kenneth Leong said the FBM KLCI staged a mild recovery but China's government measures to restore the republic’s economic growth through lending rate cut were not sufficient to lift sentiment.
"Also, our local government announcement of several initiatives to stimulate the stock market yesterday deemed to be inadequate to boost trading sentiment. We expect trading activities to be muted ahead of the six states elections to provide a clearer national economic policy.
"Technically, should the 1,390 resistance be cleared, the next resistance levels are located at 1,405 and 1,412. Meanwhile, support is spotted at 1,372," he told Bernama.
Region-wise, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index fell 1.54% to 19,607.08, China’s SSE Composite Index shed 0.47% to 3,240.36, South Korea’s Kospi slid 0.18% to 2,604.91, Singapore's Straits Times Index lost 0.49% to 3,225.13, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 gained 0.06% to 33,388.91.
Back home, heavyweights Public Bank Bhd added one sen to RM3.88, CIMB Group Holdings Bhd rose six sen to RM5.14 and IHH Healthcare Bhd perked up eight sen to RM6, while Maybank Bhd and Tenaga Nasional Bhd were flat at RM8.65 and RM9.22 respectively.
Of the actives, Sarawak Consolidated Industries Bhd and RGB International Bhd improved 1.5 sen each to 43.5 sen and 31 sen respectively, Tanco Holdings Bhd edged up half a sen to 51 sen, while YTL Corp Bhd fell 8.5 sen to 88 sen and Top Glove Bhd shed 4.5 sen to 87 sen.
On the index board, the FBM Emas Index was 27.27 points lower at 10,205.54, the FBMT 100 Index lost 24.60 points to 9,906.49, the FBM Emas Shariah Index dipped 46.53 points to 10,512.36, the FBM 70 Index dropped 167.73 points to 13,381.35, and the FBM ACE Index shaved off 39.37 points to 5,089.06.
Sector-wise, the Energy Index erased 9.03 points to 780, the Industrial Products and Services Index eased 1.29 points to 158.04, the Plantation Index gave up 14.34 points to 6,740.37, while the Financial Services Index rose 40.29 points to 15,313.51.
The Main Market volume expanded to 1.96 billion units valued at RM1.54 billion from 1.78 billion units valued at RM1.26 billion on Monday.
Warrants turnover increased to 361 million units worth RM50.26 million against 278.87 million units worth RM47.26 million previously.
The ACE Market volume declined to 512.56 million shares valued at RM163.45 million from 516.34 million shares valued at RM161.14 million yesterday.
Consumer products and services counters accounted for 330.54 million shares traded on the Main Market, industrial products and services (512.67 million); construction (83.96 million); technology (149.72 million); SPAC (nil); financial services (57.32 million); property (249.74 million); plantation (50.23 million); REITs (4.69 million), closed/fund (20,000); energy (141.19 million); healthcare (142.39 million); telecommunications and media (55.39 million); transportation and logistics (16.66 million); and utilities (169.06 million).
Source: The Edge
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