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 (Sept 15): Bursa Malaysia bounced to close at its intra-day high on Friday as China’s better-than-expected latest economic data lifted regional sentiment.
At 5pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) bagged 9.45 points to 1,459.03 from Thursday’s close of 1,449.58. The index opened 0.49 points lower at 1,449.09 and hit an intra-day low of 1,448.75.
On the broader market, gainers outnumbered decliners 550 to 387 while 428 counters were unchanged, 1,008 untraded and 23 suspended.
Turnover jumped to 4.02 billion units worth RM4.31 billion against Thursday’s 2.96 billion units worth RM2.20 billion.
Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd equity research vice-president Thong Pak Leng said regional market undertones continued to improve as investors cheered the release of China's retail sales and industrial output figures for August that far surpassed economists' expectations. The country’s retail sales grew by 4.6% last month compared to a year ago, while industrial production expanded 4.5%.
Market sentiment also got a boost from China’s move late Thursday to cut its reserve requirement ratio by 25 basis points, injecting around US$69 billion (RM323.2 billion) to aid its economic recovery.
“Market confidence is also on the rise as investors anticipate a halt in the US interest rate hike. As a result, we expect the domestic benchmark index to continue its upswing,” he told Bernama.
At the close, Petronas Chemicals led heavyweight counters, surging 26 sen, or 3.63%, to RM7.43, followed by Kuala Lumpur Kepong, which surged RM1.60, or 7.37%, at RM23.32.
Sime Darby Plantations jumped 18 sen, or 4.09%, to RM4.58 while CIMB was up nine sen at RM5.78. Tenaga Nasional similarly rose nine sen to RM10.06.
Of the actives, Sapura Energy eased half a sen to 5.5 sen while YTL was flat at RM2.08 and Ekovest gained 2.5 sen to 55 sen.
On the index board, the FBMT 100 Index went up 69.07 points to 10,444.79, the FBM Emas Index added 70.71 points to 10,771.17 and the FBM Emas Shariah Index advanced 72.08 points to 11,011.35.
The FBM 70 Index gained 100.28 points to 14,251.83 while the FBM ACE Index was 44.94 points higher at 5,209.50.
Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index widened 92.81 points to 16,330.23, the Energy Index was 12.45 points better at 893.86 and the Industrial Products and Services Index inched up 2.24 points to 174.48.
The Plantation Index rose by 72.01 points to 7,037.21.
The Main Market’s volume widened to 3.02 billion units worth RM4.08 billion from 2.12 billion units worth RM2 billion on Thursday.
Warrant turnover jumped to 464.07 million units valued at RM68.52 million against Thursday’s 288.45 million units valued at RM41.40 million.
The ACE Market volume, however, narrowed to 536.34 million shares worth RM159.08 million from 546.61 million shares worth RM157.78 million previously.
Consumer products and services counters accounted for 336.91 million shares traded on the Main Market, industrial products and services (449.74 million); construction (195.40 million); technology (260 million); SPAC (nil); financial services (109.68 million); property (377.80 million); plantation (100 million); REITs (102 million), closed/fund (17,000); energy (580.58 million); healthcare (69.22 million); telecommunications and media (85.38 million); transportation and logistics (100.84 million); and utilities (246.62 million).
Source: The Edge
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