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 6): Bursa Malaysia settled slightly higher at the close on Tuesday (June 6), backed by mild buying support for selected heavyweights, amid a mixed regional market performance.
At 5pm, the FBM KLCI had risen 1.91 points to 1,383.17, from 1,381.26 at the close last Friday.
The key index opened 0.84 point higher at 1,382.10 on Tuesday morning, and moved between 1,377.35 and 1,383.58 throughout the day.
However, the broader market was negative, with 507 decliners and 355 advancers, while 413 counters were unchanged, 968 untraded, and 14 others suspended.
Turnover narrowed to 3.55 billion units worth RM1.92 billion, versus 3.60 billion units worth RM1.94 billion last Friday.
Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd equity research vice-president Thong Pak Leng said key regional indices were influenced by investors' mixed reactions after economic data showed that the US services sector unexpectedly softened in May.
The latest data indicated some signs of economic weakening in the US, he told Bernama.
"Trading activities across the region remained somewhat subdued, as investors looked ahead to next week's US Federal Reserve meeting," he said.
Thong opined that the local market bellwether was expected to inch higher ahead of the proposed dissolution of the state legislative assemblies of six states at end-June 2023.
He added that the investors were reluctant to commit large positions in the stock market due to the local political climate at the moment.
"Nonetheless, the benchmark index remains in the oversold position for some time, and we expect bargain hunting to prevail, hence we anticipate the KLCI to trend higher within the 1,380-1,395 range for the week," he said.
Among heavyweights, Malayan Banking Bhd (Maybank) was flat at RM8.58 a share, Public Bank Bhd added three sen to RM3.81, Tenaga Nasional Bhd eased 12 sen to RM9.30, CelcomDigi Bhd slid eight sen to RM4.40, and Petronas Chemicals Group Bhd shed three sen to RM6.52.
Of the actives, Borneo Oil Bhd was flat at 1.5 sen, Dagang NeXchange Bhd fell 4.5 sen to 47 sen, Advance Synergy Bhd rose 1.5 sen to 15 sen, Techna-X Bhd put on half a sen to two sen, and Classita Holdings Bhd gained one sen to 13 sen.
On the index board, the FBM Emas Index shrank by 10.38 points to 10,196.79, the FBMT 100 Index gave up 13.13 points to 9,895.32, the FBM Emas Shariah Index erased 9.63 points to 10,581.23, the FBM 70 Index dipped 128.62 points to 13,476.02, and FBM ACE Index declined 30.85 points to 5,039.41.
Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index slipped 2.16 points to 15,091.79, the Energy Index fell 20.85 points to 790.43, and the Plantation Index increased 86.87 points to 6,711.43, while the Industrial Products and Services Index was flat at 159.78.
The Main Market volume expanded to 2.39 billion units valued at RM1.66 billion, from 2.16 billion units valued at RM1.61 billion last Friday.
Warrant turnover increased to 423.12 million units worth RM59.84 million, against 417.89 million units worth RM56.58 million previously.
The ACE Market volume dwindled to 734.62 million shares valued at RM203.45 million, from 1.03 billion shares valued at RM265 million last Friday.
Consumer products and services counters accounted for 438.57 million shares traded on the Main Market, followed by industrial products and services (639.45 million), construction (40.09 million), technology (321.54 million), special purpose acquisition companies (nil), financial services (71.70 million), property (215.31 million), plantation (25.83 million), real estate investment trusts (9.89 million), closed/funds (5,000), energy (449.42 million), healthcare (57.79 million), telecommunications and media (34.59 million), transportation and logistics (34.21 million), and utilities (56.30 million).
Source: The Edge
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